KISS — Keep It Simple, Stupid
Definition: Design principle favoring simplicity over cleverness. KISS is a discipline: most production outages and onboarding pain trace back to something that didn't need to be complicated.
Example
In engineering planning, you'll often hear something like: "Let's pull the latest KISS numbers before we make a call" — shorthand for keep it simple, stupid.
When you'll hear it
KISS shows up most often in engineering planning, architecture reviews, and sprint retrospectives. When someone uses it, they're usually referring to keep it simple, stupid — and they expect the room to already know what that means.
FAQs
What does KISS stand for?
KISS stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid.
What does KISS mean in technology and engineering?
Design principle favoring simplicity over cleverness. KISS is a discipline: most production outages and onboarding pain trace back to something that didn't need to be complicated.
Where will I hear KISS used at work?
KISS comes up most often in engineering planning, architecture reviews, and sprint retrospectives. It's used as shorthand for keep it simple, stupid, so people assume you already know the term.
Related terms
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