It refers to the degenerative nature of iterative specifications: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-syste

It refers to the degenerative nature of iterative specifications: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-system_effect i.e. the attempt to "improve" ultimately adds additional complexity, and defeats its stated purpose due to conflicting use-cases.