MENTAL MODEL · M2813

Zawinski's Law

SystemsHigh supportSystems Theory

Included

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

“Every program attempts to expand until it can read mail.” -

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

The ultimate fate of feature creep. - Why do current apps all want to do social, payments, and short videos? Because under growth pressure, all tool software eventually tries to become an “operating system” or “platform,” leading to bloated features. This reminds product managers: maintaining “small and beautiful” is against human nature, requiring great restraint to counter the system's expansion instinct.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Jamie Zawinski joked: every program expands until it can read mail. It reveals software's "feature creep" and platformization impulse—under growth pressure, tools continuously annex adjacent features, eventually becoming bloated "operating systems." The essence is the entropic tendency of system expansion combined with the motivation of products pursuing "retention/duration."

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

When building products, clearly define core boundaries and list a "not-to-do list." For new feature requests, test whether they serve the core, and resist unbounded expansion. Regularly do subtraction (take down low-value features). Beware the temptation to "become a platform" unless there is genuine synergy.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

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Source support: Explicit

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en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_ZawinskiZH · Explicit
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