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EntityQ131560· pop 37· linked from 347 articles

Also known as KISS principle, keep it simple, stupid, keep it simple stupid, Keep it simple, silly, keep it short and simple, keep it simple and straightforward, keep it small and simple, keep it stupid simple

acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid"; design principle

Wikidata facts

Image
Kiss - Keep it simple stupid.jpg
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discoverer or inventor
Kelly Johnson
different from
Kiss
Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

~5 min read

Encyclopedic overview

KISS ("Keep it simple, stupid") is a design principle first noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960. First seen partly in American English by at least 1938, KISS implies that simplicity should be a design goal. The phrase has been associated with aircraft engineer Kelly Johnson. The term "KISS principle" was in popular use by 1970. Variations on the phrase (usually as some euphemism for the more churlish "stupid") include "keep it super simple", "keep it simple, silly", "keep it short and simple", "keep it short and sweet", "keep it simple and straightforward", "keep it small and simple", "keep it simple, soldier", "keep it simple, sailor", "keep it simple, sweetie", "keep it stupidly simple", or "keep it sweet and simple".

Origin

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “KISS” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.