Safe-fail
One-liner: Design so failures are recoverable and informative — versus brittle fail-safe ideals that assume total prevention.
In Juarrero’s usage
Lineage includes her 1991 “Fail-Safe Versus Safe-Fail” theme; talks apply to social and organizational design. Complex environments need microdiversity and resilience, not only fortress control.
Not to confuse with
- Carelessness
- “Fail-safe” (different ideal: prevent failure entirely)
Everyday example
Feature flags and gradual rollout vs one irreversible big-bang release with no undo.
Related
Best local sources
- REPORT §9.2 · claim C012