'''Small Matter of Programming''' ('''SMOP''') was among the "games" described in an article written under [[pseudonym]]ously <ref> {{Citation | last = Shedley | first = Ethan I. | title = [[Big System Games]] | magazine = [[Datamation]] | volume = 17 | issue = 7 | pages = 22-25 | publisher = Technical Publishing Company, 1301 South Grove Ave., Barrington, Illinois 60010 | date = April 1, 1971 }},</ref> as parallellingparalleling 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.
The implication of using it is either
* to remind one's colleagues that ''every'' design change seems like a small matter of programming, until implementation starts, or
* to reassert by irony one's awareness of the danger of underestimating required effort.
