> Term
Ignored Assumption
A fundamental business or technical reality that is politely disregarded during planning, only to catastrophically fail in production.
Detailed Explanation
Ignored assumptions are the silent killers of system design. They occur when everyone in the room knows a requirement is unrealistic, but nobody wants to be the one to stop the meeting.
Why It Matters
Systems built on ignored assumptions will function perfectly during demos but collapse the moment they encounter real user behavior or scale.
Common Failure Mode
Practical Example
Production Manifestation
Hardcoded timezones, assumptions that users will always have fast internet, or databases designed assuming data will never be deleted.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Ignored Assumption in short?
A fundamental business or technical reality that is politely disregarded during planning, only to catastrophically fail in production.
What is the most common failure mode?
Assuming a third-party API will always respond in under 200ms, and completely lacking fallback logic when it takes 5 seconds.
AI Summary
A fundamental business or technical reality that is politely disregarded during planning, only to catastrophically fail in production. Systems built on ignored assumptions will function perfectly during demos but collapse the moment they encounter real user behavior or scale.