Committee Meeting Simulator
Meeting: 0:00
C
Dr. Chair
Committee Chair
E
Prof. Tech
Nuclear Engineer
F
Ms. Budget
Finance Director
H
Mr. People
HR Manager
A
Mrs. Admin
Office Manager
Click "Start Meeting" to begin the simulation...

Watch how committee members engage differently based on topic complexity. Click agenda items to guide discussion focus.

Nuclear Reactor Design 10,000,000
Approval of containment vessel specifications, cooling system design, and safety protocols. Highly technical - requires expert knowledge to evaluate.
Time spent: 0s Complexity: High
Staff Cafeteria Renovation 50,000
Kitchen equipment upgrades, seating layout, and menu vendor selection. Moderately complex - most can understand but opinions vary.
Time spent: 0s Complexity: Medium
Bicycle Shed Construction 350
Simple roof structure for staff bicycles. What COLOR should we paint it? Everyone has an opinion on colors!
Time spent: 0s Complexity: Low
Coffee Room Supplies 200/month
Choice between regular and premium coffee brands. Should we get a French press? Very relatable - everyone drinks coffee!
Time spent: 0s Complexity: Low

Meeting Analysis

Item Value Your Time Parkinson's Example

The Origin Story

"A reactor is so vastly expensive and complicated that an average person cannot understand it, so one assumes that those who work on it understand it. However, everyone can visualize a cheap, simple bicycle shed, so planning one can result in endless discussions." - C. Northcote Parkinson, 1957

The term "bikeshedding" was popularized by Danish developer Poul-Henning Kamp in 1999 in a famous email to the FreeBSD mailing list about trivial debates in software development.

Software Examples

  • Code Review Arguing over variable names while ignoring architectural flaws
  • Design Meetings Debating button colors instead of user experience flows
  • Tooling Hours spent on IDE choice, minutes on security framework
  • Documentation Perfect formatting, incomplete content

Why We Bikeshed

  • We want to contribute, even when we can't
  • Simple topics are cognitively easier
  • Everyone can have an opinion on colors
  • Complex issues require admitting ignorance
Source: Parkinson, C.N. (1957). "Parkinson's Law, or The Pursuit of Progress." John Murray, London.