Design Patterns · Senior · Question 50 of 75
What is the "second-system effect" in architectural decisions?
- ✓Correct answer: The tendency to overload the second version of a system with every postponed idea
- 2Faster development of the second system thanks to experience with the first
- 3A system's dependency on a second, backup database
Explanation
Fred Brooks's term: after a successful first system, the architect designs the second one "properly", adding everything previously left out, and ends up with an overcomplicated product. An argument for incremental change, YAGNI and Strangler Fig instead of a "big rewrite".