(noun) The theory that systems naturally evolve to perform the same function through multiple independent mechanisms.

The company maintained three separate customer databases across departments, each serving identical purposes but requiring distinct maintenance procedures.

The Duplication of Effort Principle describes the tendency of complex systems to develop redundant pathways for accomplishing identical tasks. This phenomenon occurs without central planning and persists despite inefficiency because each duplicated mechanism serves local optimization within its subsystem. The principle demonstrates how systems resist consolidation efforts that would eliminate this redundancy.

Examples:

• Multiple authentication systems within the same organization
• Parallel approval processes that achieve identical validation
• Separate logging frameworks performing the same data collection
• Independent inventory tracking systems across business units