%% date:: [[2023-12-27]] parent:: %% # [[Gall's Law]] Gall's Law states that it's better to start out with a simple [[Systems thinking|system]] and then add on complexity rather than to start out complex and have to decouple/reduce from there: > A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a simple working system. [^gall] Gall originally said it about [[Software Development|building software]], but it can be applied to any sort of system, including [[Personal Knowledge Management|PKM]] systems. [^gall]: Gall, J. (1975). *Systemantics: How systems really work and how they fail.*