Synergy is frequently used in the context of 'the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.' Obviously, this is not always true, especially on projects. For example, in the mechanical mental model that people so often have, components are replaceable, they act independently of one another, and all behavior can be scripted in simplistic terms. The world is a far more complicated place than that.

This article analyses the symptoms and trends in which 'negative synergy' can occur on projects. In such situations, not only is the whole less than the parts you don't have, it's dramatically so.

• The terrain is not the map
• A chain is as weak as it's weakest link
• Belief is a tipping point
• The architecture compartmentalizes knowledge and action
  • communications rarely occurs
  • key states and interactions ripple across systems
  • initialization and recovery behaviors
  • throughput, timing, and race conditions
  • analysis of failures