In any project, there comes a time during development, especially from a design point of view, where it feels like a wall has been hit. You have went along with a design solution for so long now, you can’t just throw it and start again because it’s deeply rooted into the whole solution, but you can barely evolve it further. Even after iterative testing and user feedback, the feedback begins to reduce as the amplitude of change lessens. A complete overhaul isn’t always necessary, a big change however could be accommodated and help to drive the solution further.
The ‘local maximum’ reflects the stage where so many changes have been made to an iteration, that no more can be done to better the outcome.
When at this point, change is needed in the form of innovation, something drastic has to be changed in order to cater for greater change and better improvement.
