--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Find the simplest model that is not a lie…" description: "\"Find the simplest model that is not a lie is the key to better software design.\" — David Parnas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/david-parnas-42285_design_find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-li_3077884.png" --- # Find the simplest model that is not a lie is the key to… ![“Find the simplest model that is not a lie is the key to better software design.” quote by David Parnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/david-parnas-42285_design_find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-li_3077884.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/david-parnas-42285_design_find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-li_3077884.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/david-parnas-42285_design_find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-li_3077884.png) > “Find the simplest model that is not a lie is the key to better software design.” [David Parnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parnas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A minimal, truthful model improves design clarity and maintainability. **In simple terms:** Keep models simple and honest for better design. Key Takeaway Prioritize simplicity and truth in modeling. Themes simplicity truth design software engineering Mood analytical focused Type advice technical When to use this quote - system architecture - code reviews - requirements gathering Key Concepts modeling abstraction verification Questions to Reflect On - How can you test if a model is still accurate? - When does simplicity hinder functionality? A Different Perspective Complex systems may need richer models; oversimplification can miss edge cases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) [Software design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software-design/) ## Related quotes > [“We’re proving not only that we can do better software, but that joy is an asset.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-s-raymond/we-re-proving-not-only-that-we-can-do-better-software-but-that-joy-is/) [Eric S. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-s-raymond/) > [Nothing in progression can rest on its original plan. 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Until a Bob helper is born, you can look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-quittner/microsoft-unleashed-something-called-bob-a-program-that-s-supposed-to/) Josh Quittner > [Good work is always done in defiance of management.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/good-work-is-always-done-in-defiance-of-management/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [A Wired reader told me once, Get a life, which I read from the back of a yacht in the Aegean, while eating fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/a-wired-reader-told-me-once-get-a-life-which-i-read-from-the-back-of/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [If you want a language that tries to lock up all the sharp objects and fire-making implements, use Pascal or Ada: the Nerf languages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-fahlman/if-you-want-a-language-that-tries-to-lock-up-all-the-sharp-objects/) Scott Fahlman > [Should array indices start at 0 or 1? 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I have the uncomfortable feeling that others… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/please-don-t-fall-into-the-trap-of-believing-that-i-am-terribly/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [Beauty is more important in computing than anywhere else in technology because software is so complicated. Beauty is the ultimate defense against complexity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gelernter/beauty-is-more-important-in-computing-than-anywhere-else-in/) [David Gelernter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gelernter/) > [The real tight interface is between the book and the reader-the world of the book is plugged right into your brain, never mind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/the-real-tight-interface-is-between-the-book-and-the-reader-the-world/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) ## More by David Parnas > [Requirements in mathematical language are no use unless they are easier to read than the code.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/requirements-in-mathematical-language-are-no-use-unless-they-are/) [David Parnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parnas/) > [Complexity is not a goal. I don't want to be remembered as an engineer of complex systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/complexity-is-not-a-goal-i-don-t-want-to-be-remembered-as-an-engineer/) [David Parnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parnas/) > [I have found that the reason a lot of people are interested in artificial intelligence is the same reason a lot of people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/i-have-found-that-the-reason-a-lot-of-people-are-interested-in/) [David Parnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parnas/) > [Artificial intelligence has the same relation to intelligence as artificial flowers have to flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/artificial-intelligence-has-the-same-relation-to-intelligence-as/) [David Parnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parnas/) > [Copy and paste is a design error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/copy-and-paste-is-a-design-error/) [David Parnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parnas/) > [One bad programmer can easily create two new jobs a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/one-bad-programmer-can-easily-create-two-new-jobs-a-year/) [David Parnas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parnas/) > [Many spend their time berating practitioners for not applying their method. 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Then you will be assured of a product fit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giambattista-bodoni/plenty-of-white-space-and-generous-line-spacing-and-don-t-make-the/) Giambattista Bodoni > [Designers shouldn’t design for museums any more than mummies should die for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-caplan/designers-shouldn-t-design-for-museums-any-more-than-mummies-should/) [Ralph Caplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-caplan/) > [The market may never coalesce around one basic design, or even around two or three dominant devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-market-may-never-coalesce-around-one-basic-design-or-even-around/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/) Jen-Hsun Huang > [Design is not making beauty, beauty emerges from selection, affinities, integration, love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-kahn/design-is-not-making-beauty-beauty-emerges-from-selection-affinities/) [Louis Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-kahn/) > [The beauty of New York is unintentional; it arose independent of human design, like a stalagmite cavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-beauty-of-new-york-is-unintentional-it-arose-independent-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. 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Your personal choice plays a big role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gauri-khan/design-is-a-very-personal-thing-it-s-like-art-your-personal-choice/) [Gauri Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gauri-khan/) > [“Designing posters, for me, is not only a commercial pursuit but also a philosophical endeavor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fang-chen/designing-posters-for-me-is-not-only-a-commercial-pursuit-but-also-a/) Fang Chen > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. I see it as a dialogue, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-warner/i-am-not-a-great-believer-in-dialectical-struggle-i-am-much-more-of-a/) [Marina Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-warner/) > [Users are not designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/users-are-not-designers/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Browse all 5,563 Design quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Find the simplest model that is not a lie is the key to better software design.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Parnas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-lie-is-the-key-to-better/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Design" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-lie-is-the-key-to-better/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/david-parnas-42285_design_find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-li_3077884.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/david-parnas-42285_design_find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-li_3077884.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/700/david-parnas-42285_design_find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-li_3077884.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Find the simplest model that is not a lie is the key to better software design.” — David Parnas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Parnas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-parnas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Find the simplest model that is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-lie-is-the-key-to-better/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-parnas/find-the-simplest-model-that-is-not-a-lie-is-the-key-to-better/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```