{
  "id": "feature-creep.drift",
  "term": "feature creep",
  "sense": "drift",
  "pos": "noun",
  "status": "review",
  "level": 15,
  "domain": "software development",
  "style": "folk",
  "definition": "a drift that narrows the window because no one noticed the boundary moving, and the self-model still treats the old range as real",
  "folk_gloss": "when a project slowly gains extra features it didn't plan for",
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "drift.aimless",
      "window.range",
      "boundary.limit",
      "self-model.reflexive"
    ],
    "interaction": "none",
    "novel_properties": [
      "emergence"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [],
  "relations": [],
  "used_by": [],
  "forms": [
    "feature creep"
  ],
  "closed": true,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "phrases:qwen/qwen3-235b-a22b-2507",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 0.7,
    "sources": [
      "folk phrase — drift nobody noticed"
    ]
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-feature-creep.drift"
}