What is Parkinson’s Law of Triviality?
‘Parkinson’s Law of Triviality’ is the law that refers to the high amount of time and resources spent on trivial matters. Concerning companies, it is related to the undue amount of time and attention given to insignificant details and issues.
Cyril Northcote Parkinson, who developed the Law of Triviality explains it using a simple example: Consider that a group of scientists and laymen are planning to build a nuclear reactor as well as a bike shed for the group to hangout. Since the fewer number of scientists have the technical knowledge to understand the nuances of a nuclear plant, ther group will not be discussing it as much as they would discuss the details of the bike shed, since all members of the group can have a say as it is simpler stuff.
It is also called ‘bicycle-shed effect’, ‘bike-shed effect’ and ‘bike-shedding’ due to the example cited above.
