'''Small Matter of Programming''' ('''SMOP''') was among the "games" described, in a magazinean article entitledunder the pseudonym {{Citation | last = Shedley | first = Ethan I. | authorlink = [[Ethan I. Shedley]] | title = "Big- System Games Programmers| magazine = [[Datamation]] Play"{{Fact| volume = 17 | issue = 7 | pages = 22-25 | publisher = Technical Publishing Company, 1301 South Grove Ave., Barrington, Illinois 60010 | date =February2007April 1, 1971 }}, as parallelling the ''[[Games People Play (book)|Games People Play]]'' identified by Dr. [[Eric Berne]] in the field of self-help psychology. The game essentially consists of proposing seemingly simple adjustments to a design, and leaving to someone else the problem of fitting the unexpected consequences into the schedule.