Gall’s Law¶

Working complex systems generally evolve from working simpler systems.

Canonical interpretation¶

Prefer evolutionary growth from validated foundations over designing a complete complex system in one step.

Purpose¶

Working complex systems generally evolve from working simpler systems.

Apply when¶

The project is being evolved, modernized, reviewed, or reorganized.
Organizational and historical context affects technical outcomes.

This does not mean¶

Do not assume every simple system can evolve into any complex target.
Do not avoid necessary architectural preparation for known constraints.

Trade-offs¶

Local improvement can enlarge the scope and risk of a change.
Organizational laws are diagnostic lenses, not deterministic commands.

Conflicts with canonical entries¶

None recorded.

Broader policy tensions¶

big-design-up-front

Reinforces canonical entries¶

kiss
make-it-work-right-fast

Supports broader concerns¶

None recorded.

Core Skill ownership¶

Primary owner: engineering-review-lenses

Positive example¶

Deliver a small working workflow and evolve it with observed needs.

Counterexample¶

Launch an untested platform containing every anticipated subsystem.

Guidance for AI models¶

Apply this guidance only after considering the active project profile, constraints, and architecture authority.
State the concrete design consequence instead of citing the principle name as sufficient justification.

Editorial note¶

This page is generated from the canonical YAML entry. Edit principles/entries/galls-law.yaml and regenerate the compendium instead of editing this file directly.