# Unbounded Big Ball of Mud

> Letting a system grow without structure into a tangled mass with no clear boundaries.

Record: `lexicon:unbounded-big-ball-of-mud`
Kind: anti-pattern
Layer: [Structural Core](https://banes-lab.com/records/layer/structural-core.md)
Canonical: https://banes-lab.com/ontology/lexicon#lexicon-unbounded-big-ball-of-mud

Listed in [Lexicon terms](https://banes-lab.com/api/records/lexicon.md), after [Shared Monolithic Application](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/shared-monolithic-application.md) and before [Contract-Governed Service Reuse](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon/contract-governed-service-reuse.md).

## Category

- [Codebase / System Architecture Styles](https://banes-lab.com/records/lexicon-category/codebase-system-architecture-styles.md)

## Negated by

- [Monolith Architecture](https://banes-lab.com/records/architecture/monolith-architecture.md)

## Linked from

- [Codebase / System Architecture Styles](https://banes-lab.com/ontology/principles/architecture-category-codebase-system-architecture-styles.md)