---
title: "Mistrust Simplicity Achieved Without Thought"
source: "https://virtualddd.com/heuristics/mistrust-simplicity-achieved-without-thought/"
authors: ["Krisztina Hirth", "Andrea Magnorsky", "Kenny Schwegler"]
tags: ["sociotechnical systems", "decision-making process", "facilitating software architecture and design", "cognitive bias"]
type: "guiding heuristics"
question: "How should we evaluate a design solution that seems deceptively simple or easy?"
submitter: "Krisztina Hirth"
---

# Mistrust Simplicity Achieved Without Thought

Be deeply skeptical of solutions for a complex problem chosen purely because they are the fastest to implement, as this often indicates a lack of critical design thinking. The initial implementation speed can hide significant long-term costs in maintenance, correction, and system complexity. True simplicity is achieved through thoughtful design, not by avoiding it.

## Examples

The team chose the easy path of publishing technical events, which took one day to implement. Correcting this simple mistake ultimately required eight months of effort across multiple teams.