Wikipedia:Avoid instruction creep
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While this essay is not a policy or guideline itself, it is intended to supplement Wikipedia is not a bureaucracy. Please update the page as needed, or discuss it on the talk page. |
Instruction creep occurs when instructions increase in size over time until they are unmanageable. It is an insidious disease, originating from ignorance of the KISS principle (keep it short and simple) and resulting in overly complex procedures that are often misunderstood, followed with great irritation, or ignored.
The fundamental fallacy of instruction creep is thinking that people read extremely long, detailed instructions. What's more, many bureaucracies also arise with the deliberate intent to be alternatives to regulations; this is almost always noticed by the other side, and tends to antagonize.
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[edit] Instruction creep on Wikipedia
Instruction creep begins when a well-meaning user thinks "This page would be better if everyone were supposed to do this" and adds more requirements.
Procedures are popular to suggest but unpopular to follow, due to the effort to find, read, and actually make sense of overly complex procedures.
Page instructions should be pruned regularly. Gratuitous requirements should be removed as soon as they are added. All new policies should be regarded as instruction creep until firmly proven otherwise.
Unlike articles, policies and guidelines should not strive to be comprehensive. Nor should editors be motivated to have a favorite essay "promoted" to guideline or policy status.
[edit] Avoiding instruction creep
For proposed new instructions, instruction creep can be avoided if all of the following hold:
- There is a good indication of an actual problem (as opposed to a hypothetical or a perceived problem)
- The proposed instructions truly solve this problem (as opposed to treating symptoms or making symbolic gestures)
- The instructions have little or no undesirable side effects (such as false positives, overcomplexity, or unnecessary prohibitions)
Sometimes, it may be useful to make a policy change temporary, to see if it is really helpful. If it has no measurable positive effect at the end of its trial period, it should be revoked.
[edit] See also
- Wikipedia:Practical process
- Wikipedia:Requests for process
- Bureaucracy
- Creeping featurism – when a computer program ends up doing more and more.
- Functionality creep – when a physical document or procedure ends up serving unexpected or unplanned purposes.
- Iron law of oligarchy
- Parkinson's law
- Red tape
- Wikipedia:If it ain't broke, don't fix it
- Wikipedia:Silence does not imply consent when drafting new policies
- Wikipedia:Dig
[edit] Source
This page was inspired by the meta-wiki concept: m:instruction creep.
