suboptimization

noun

sub·​op·​ti·​mi·​za·​tion ˌsəb-ˌäp-tə-mə-ˈzā-shən 

variants or sub-optimization

plural suboptimizations or sub-optimizations

: inadequate or flawed optimization

These new offices must carry out a dual role to avoid suboptimization of resources or moving things too slowly.

—Joseph A DeFeo

especially : optimization of a part of a system or an organization rather than of the system or organization as a whole

Suboptimization, that is to say, optimization of a particular process or subsystem, may be less efficient than optimization of the larger-scale system.

—Robert A Frosch

The opposite side of the coin is to select criteria that produce suboptimizations that are inconsistent with higher-level goals.

—Military Operations Research Division of Science Applications

suboptimize

ˌsəb-ˈäp-tə-ˌmīz 

transitive verb

or sub-optimize

suboptimized or sub-optimized; suboptimizing or sub-optimizing

Don't suboptimize the tasks. Although your paper prototype is built around a particular set of tasks you've created, don't forget about all the other tasks that users might be doing in real life.

—Carolyn Snyder

The absence of responsibility contributes to the absence of accountability, which contributes to logistics decisions that suboptimize the organization. When we say 'suboptimize,' we mean the local decisions made may be optimal, but the overall impact on the firm is not optimal.

—Thomas J. Goldsby and Robert Martichenko

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above