cathedral

Definition

A large, complex software or business project built through centralized, hierarchical planning over long periods. Contrasts with 'bazaar' development, which is more chaotic but often more effective.

Example Usage

Our ERP implementation is a cathedral project—three years of planning, millions in budget, and still not done.

Origin

From Eric S. Raymond's 1997 essay 'The Cathedral and the Bazaar'

Fun Fact

Like actual cathedrals, these projects often take decades and outlive their original architects, who may not live to see completion.

Source: Software development and project management terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

promotion

The art of making something or someone appear more important and valuable through strategic noise-making and information dissemination. In corporate contexts, it's the carrot dangled before ambitious employees, promising more money and responsibility (emphasis on responsibility). In marketing, it's the carefully orchestrated campaign to convince people they desperately need what you're selling.

💼 Corporate / Business

Advanced

bike-shedding

Wasting time on trivial details while ignoring complex, important issues. Named after spending hours debating bike shed color instead of nuclear reactor design.

💼 Corporate / Business

Beginner

credentials

The paper trail (or digital breadcrumbs) that proves you're actually qualified to do what you claim you can do, from diplomas to certifications to those laminated badges that make you feel important. In the corporate world, they're the keys to the kingdom; without them, you're just someone with opinions and a LinkedIn profile. Think of them as your professional receipts for all that time and money you spent becoming credible.

💼 Corporate / Business

Beginner

Think Outside the Box

An instruction to be creative, usually delivered inside a windowless conference room by someone who has spent 30 years building the box. The box, ironically, is made entirely of people telling you to think outside it.

💼 Corporate / Business

Beginner

meeting fatigue

The soul-crushing exhaustion from back-to-back video calls and pointless meetings that could have been emails. It's the modern workplace disease where your calendar is 100% booked but you've accomplished approximately nothing.

💼 Corporate / Business

Beginner

compromise

The art of everyone leaving slightly unhappy but still functional, where opposing parties meet in the middle and pretend they're satisfied. In business, it's how deals get done when neither side will budge completely. In data security, it's the nightmare scenario where your system's been breached and sensitive info may have leaked—definitely not the feel-good version.

💼 Corporate / Business

Translate This Term

See “cathedral” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

Flamer

A flamer is a person who enjoysflamingothers, which involves purposely angering other Internet users. It commonly involv...