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Parkinson's Law of Triviality
Parkinson's Law of Triviality (also known as the bicycle shed example, and by the expression colour of the bikeshed) is C. Northcote Parkinson's 1957 argument that organisations give disproportionate weight to trivial issues.
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[edit]Argument
The concept is presented in C. Northcote Parkinson's spoof of management, Parkinson's Law.[1] Parkinson dramatizes his Law of Triviality with a committee's deliberations on a nuclear power plant, contrasting it to deliberation on a bicycle shed. A nuclear reactor is used because it is so vastly expensive and complicated that an average person cannot understand it, so they assume that those working on it understand it. Even those with strong opinions often withhold them for fear of being shown to be insufficiently informed. On the other hand, everyone understands a bicycle shed (or thinks he or she does), so building one can result in endless discussions because everyone involved wants to add his or her touch and show that they have contributed. While discussing the bikeshed, debate emerges over whether the best choice of roofing is aluminium, asbestos, or galvanized iron, rather than whether the shed is a good idea or not.
[edit]Internet meme
The concept was restated by a widely-quoted and often-reprinted 1999 email post by Poul-Henning Kamp to the FreeBSD development mailing list titled "A bike shed (any colour will do) on greener grass..."[2][3] Despite colour not featuring as an argument in Parkinson's original example, Parkinson's basic concept was presented, and used to illustrate software development problems. After Kamp's restatement, the Law of Triviality has increasingly been referred to as the "bikeshed concept" or "colour of the bikeshed" in publications and discourse.
[edit]Related principles and formulations
There are several other principles, well known in specific problem domains, which express a similar sentiment.
- In the context of programming language design, one encounters Wadler's Law, named for computer scientist Philip Wadler.[4] This principle asserts that the bulk of discussion on programming language design centers around syntax (which, for purposes of the argument is considered a solved problem), as opposed to semantics.
- Sayre's Law is a more general principle, which holds (among other formulations) that "In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the stakes at issue"; many formulations of the principle focus on academia.
[edit]References
- ^ Parkinson's Law, C. Northcote Parkinson, pp. 24-32
- ^ Poul-Henning Kamp, A bike shed (any colour will do) on greener grass.... 2 Oct 1999. Archived 25 July 2008.
- ^ Karl Fogel, Producing Open Source Software: How to Run a Successful Free Software Project, O'Reilly, 2005, ISBN 0596007590, "Bikeshed Effect" pp. 135, 261-268 (also online)
- ^ "Wadler's Law". Haskell. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
[edit]Further reading
- Karl Fogel, Producing Open Source Software: How to Run a Successful Free Software Project, O'Reilly, 2005, ISBN 0596007590, "Bikeshed Effect" pp. 135, 261-268 (also online)
- Grace Budrys, Planning for the nation's health: a study of twentieth-century developments in the United States, Greenwood Press, 1986, ISBN 031325348X, p. 81 (see extract at Google Books)
- Bob Burton et al., Nuclear Power, Pollution and Politics, Routledge, 1990, ISBN 041503065X, p. ix (see extract at Google Books)
- Darren Chamberlain et al., Perl Template Toolkit, O'Reilly, 2004, ISBN 0596004761, p. 412 (see extract atGoogle Books)
- Donelson R. Forsyth, Group Dynamics, Brooks/Cole, 1990, ISBN 0534080103, p. 289 (see extract atGoogle Books)
- Henry Bosch, The Director at Risk: Accountability in the Boardroom, Allen & Unwin, 1995, ISBN 0729903257, p. 92 (see extract at Google Books)
- Brian Clegg, Crash Course in Personal Development, Kogan Page, 2002, ISBN 0749438320, p. 3 (see extract at Google Books)
- Richard M. Hodgetts, Management: Theory, Process, and Practice, Saunders, 1979, ISBN 0721647146, p. 115 (see extract at Google Books)
- Journal, v. 37-38 1975-1980, Chartered Institute of Transport, p. 187 (see extract at Google Books)
- Russell D. Archibald, Managing High-Technology Programs and Projects, John Wiley and Sons, 2003,ISBN 0471265578, p. 37 (see extract at Google Books)
- Kishor Bhagwati, Managing Safety: A Guide for Executives, Wiley-VCH, 2007, ISBN 3527609598, p. 54 (see extract at Google Books)
- Jan Pen, Harmony and Conflict in Modern Society, McGraw-Hill, 1966 p. 195 (see extract at Google Books)
- Derek Salman Pugh et al., Great Writers on Organizations, Dartmouth, 1993, ISBN 1855213834, p. 116 (see extract at Google Books)
- The Federal Accountant v. 13 (9/63-6/64), Association of Government Accountants, Federal Government Accountants Association, Cornell University Graduate School of Business and Public Administration, p. 16 (see extract at Google Books)
- Al Kelly, How to Make Your Life Easier at Work, McGraw-Hill, 1988, ISBN 0070340153, p. 127 (see extract at Google Books)
- Henry Mintzberg, Power in and Around Organizations: Dynamic Techniques of Winning, Prentice-Hall, 1983, ISBN 0136868576, p. 75 (see extract at Google Books)
- The Building Services Engineer v.40 1972-1973, Institution of Heating and Ventilating Engineers (Great Britain), Chartered Institution of Building Services (see extract at Google Books)
- Charles Hampden-Turner, Gentlemen and Tradesmen: The Values of Economic Catastrophe, Routledge, 1983, ISBN 0710095791, p. 151 (see extract at Google Books)
[edit]External links
- "Why Should I Care What Color the Bikeshed Is?" (FreeBSD FAQ)
- unixguide.net source for above (alternative copy)
- http://bikeshed.com Further explanation of above.