

Therefore, adding any extra complication to a system should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Simplicity reduces failure points, as well as unintended and unplanned interactions, and allows for a much better understanding of an entire system. The general assumption behind the principle is that systems work best and have the least amount of failures when they are kept as simple as possible. This phrase – better known by its acronym KISS (not to be confused with one of our editor-in-chief’s favorite rock bands) – defines an operating principle that, according to its adherents, produces some of the best solutions possible thanks to the avoidance of superfluous complication and over-thinking. In describing what he was looking for, he coined a phrase that has become synonymous with straightforward, uncomplicated thinking: “ keep it simple, stupid.”

In the early 1960s, lead engineer Kelly Johnson of Lockheed Martin attempted to convey to his team the level of ease at which the jet aircraft that they were tasked with designing should be able to be repaired under combat conditions using only a basic tool kit.
