Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated
by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler
Weakest Link
The use of a weak element that will fail in order to protect other elements in the system from damage.
It is said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This suggests that the weakest link in a chain is also the least valuable and most expendable link—a liability to the system that should be reinforced, replaced, or removed. However, the weakest element in a system can be used to protect other more important elements, essentially making the weakest link one of the most important elements in the system. For example, electrical circuits are protected by fuses, which are designed to fail so that a power surge doesn’t damage the circuit. The fuse is the weakest link in the system. As such, the fuse is also the most valuable ...
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