custom snowball
A cascading chain reaction in which a single non-standard feature, modification, or…A cascading chain reaction in which a single non-standard feature, modification, or workaround forces the creation of subsequent custom solutions to maintain compatibility, ultimately resulting in disproportionate complexity and technical debt.
Meaning
1 senses(slang)A cascading chain reaction in which a single non-standard feature, modification, or workaround forces the creation of subsequent custom solutions to maintain compatibility, ultimately resulting in disproportionate complexity and technical debt.
We agreed to build a bespoke UI for that one client, but it turned into a massive custom snowball when we realized our standard backend couldn't process the new inputs.
Let's stick to the out-of-the-box template. I don't want to start a custom snowball right before the launch deadline.
Origin
From custom + snowball, referencing the snowball effect, where a rolling snowball gathersFrom custom + snowball, referencing the snowball effect, where a rolling snowball gathers mass and momentum. Coined to describe how a small deviation from a standard process gathers complexity.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: custom snowballs| Singular | custom snowball |
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| Plural | custom snowballs |
regular