1
00:00:00,08 --> 00:00:04,00
Hi, I'm William Lidwell and this is

2
00:00:04,00 --> 00:00:06,08
Zb#Universal Principles of Design.

3
00:00:06,08 --> 00:00:12,05
In this movie KISS; Keep It Simple Stupid.

4
00:00:12,05 --> 00:00:15,00
The acronym KISS stands for

5
00:00:15,00 --> 00:00:16,07
Keep It Simple Stupid.

6
00:00:16,07 --> 00:00:18,06
But more politically correct variations

7
00:00:18,06 --> 00:00:24,01
are often used like
Keep It Short & Simple,

8
00:00:24,01 --> 00:00:26,09
and Keep It Simple Silly.

9
00:00:26,09 --> 00:00:29,03
The original less politic phrasing of the

10
00:00:29,03 --> 00:00:31,06
principle Keep It Simple Stupid

11
00:00:31,06 --> 00:00:34,04
was popularized by Kelly Johnson the

12
00:00:34,04 --> 00:00:38,02
J8legendary lead engineer of
the Lockheed Skunkworks.

13
00:00:38,02 --> 00:00:40,07
If you've never heard of Kelly Johnson

14
00:00:40,07 --> 00:00:43,02
he led the design of
advanced aircraft such

15
00:00:43,02 --> 00:00:47,00
as the P-38 Lightening, F-104 Starfighter

16
00:00:47,00 --> 00:00:49,08
and the SR-71 Blackbird.

17
00:00:49,08 --> 00:00:51,07
A%He is considered one of the great

18
00:00:51,07 --> 00:00:54,05
aircraft designers and R&D leaders

19
00:00:54,05 --> 00:00:56,07
of the 20th century.

20
00:00:56,07 --> 00:00:59,05
Johnson designed aircraft for war which

21
00:00:59,05 --> 00:01:02,01
meant planes had to perform reliably

22
00:01:02,01 --> 00:01:04,03
and they had to be easy to fix in rough,

23
00:01:04,03 --> 00:01:06,06
stressful field conditions.

24
00:01:06,06 --> 00:01:08,00
And one of the most powerful principles

25
00:01:08,00 --> 00:01:12,05
he employed to do this was KISS.

26
00:01:12,05 --> 00:01:15,07
The KISS principle asserts
that simple systems

 

27
00:01:15,07 --> 00:01:17,09
work better than complex systems.

!

28
00:01:17,09 --> 00:01:23,04
Accordingly, simplicity should
be a key goal in design.

"

29
00:01:23,04 --> 00:01:25,09
~1'Simplicity means minimal parts with

#

30
00:01:25,09 --> 00:01:29,01
minimal interactions between those parts.

$

31
00:01:29,01 --> 00:01:31,04
So given the chose
between two functionally

%

32
00:01:31,04 --> 00:01:35,01
C64equivalent systems, car
engines, or algorithms,

&

33
00:01:35,01 --> 00:01:38,05
or work flows, the ones with fewer parts

'

34
00:01:38,05 --> 00:01:42,09
and interactions between parts will be

(

35
00:01:42,09 --> 00:01:46,01
will perform more reliably
and will be easier

*

36
00:01:46,01 --> 00:01:48,03
to troubleshoot and maintain.

+

37
00:01:48,03 --> 00:01:50,06
d@+Now, in practice it's important to note

,

38
00:01:50,06 --> 00:01:54,07
that innovative designs
rarely start off simple.

-

39
00:01:54,07 --> 00:01:58,01
The process iteration
and prototyping is messy

.

40
00:01:58,01 --> 00:02:00,04
and designs invariably accure inessential

/

41
00:02:00,04 --> 00:02:04,02
elements and interactions
as they are developed.

0

42
00:02:04,02 --> 00:02:06,05
The KISS principle most
often comes into play

1

43
00:02:06,05 --> 00:02:10,03
once a design nears a working prototype.

2

44
00:02:10,03 --> 00:02:14,04
M;At this point KISS is a good
tool to prove complexity.

3

45
00:02:14,04 --> 00:02:17,09
Iterations become
increasingly subtractive.

4

46
00:02:17,09 --> 00:02:20,00
Good designers ask, what can be removed

5

47
00:02:20,00 --> 00:02:22,01
NrS without hurting performance?

6

48
00:02:22,01 --> 00:02:24,04
T*And they keep removing and simplifying

7

49
00:02:24,04 --> 00:02:28,07
and applying KISS until they
can't simplify any further.

8

50
00:02:28,07 --> 00:02:30,03
Until subtracting something hurts

9

51
00:02:30,03 --> 00:02:32,01
a performance requirement.

:

52
00:02:32,01 --> 00:02:36,06
That's when they know to stop.

;

53
00:02:36,06 --> 00:02:38,04
],On of the greatest examples of this type

<

54
00:02:38,04 --> 00:02:42,07
of KISS process applied is
the AK-47 Assault Rifle.

=

55
00:02:42,07 --> 00:02:45,06
Invented by Mikhail Kalashnikov.

>

56
00:02:45,06 --> 00:02:49,09
The AK-47 began as a kind
of Frankenstein rifle.

?

57
00:02:49,09 --> 00:02:53,02
d2Borrowing from a variety
of existing designs.

@

58
00:02:53,02 --> 00:02:56,09
But through this process
of iterative subtraction

A

59
00:02:56,09 --> 00:03:00,03
it was simplified to having
only eight moving parts.

B

60
00:03:00,03 --> 00:03:03,04
It is arguably the most
successful firearm in history

C

61
00:03:03,04 --> 00:03:06,05
m7with an estimated 70 to
100 million of the weapons

D

62
00:03:06,05 --> 00:03:09,00
in circulation.

E

63
00:03:09,00 --> 00:03:11,01
p,Tragically these very qualities have led

F

64
00:03:11,01 --> 00:03:13,06
the rifle to become
the preferred weapon of

G

65
00:03:13,06 --> 00:03:16,04
s.criminals and terror its across the world.

H

66
00:03:16,04 --> 00:03:19,01
A year before he died Kalashnikov said,

I

67
00:03:19,01 --> 00:03:20,08
It is painful for me to see when

J

68
00:03:20,08 --> 00:03:24,02
Aw8criminal elements of all
kinds fire from my weapon.

K

69
00:03:24,02 --> 00:03:28,00
AI created this weapon primarily
to safeguard our fatherland.

L

70
00:03:28,00 --> 00:03:31,01
H{8This serves as a healthy
reminder to all designers.

M

71
00:03:31,01 --> 00:03:33,00
The KISS principle helps give us

N

72
00:03:33,00 --> 00:03:38,01
quality and reliability but not wisdom.

O

73
00:03:38,01 --> 00:03:41,02
So, wether you use KISS to speed up

P

74
00:03:41,02 --> 00:03:44,02
production processes,
increase the reliability

Q

75
00:03:44,02 --> 00:03:47,01
of mechanisms, or increase the clarity and

R

76
00:03:47,01 --> 00:03:49,07
maintainability of software remember

S

77
00:03:49,07 --> 00:03:52,06
smart design requires that you

T