English Dictionary

a camel is a horse designed by a committee

ことわざ

An expression critical of committees — which by analogy can extend to both group decision-making as well as abstract or unrelated managerialism — by emphasizing the weaknesses of incorporating too many conflicting and inexperienced opinions into a single project. The distinguishing features of a camel, including its humps, plate-shaped feet, habitual spitting, strange shape and poor temperament, are treated as the sort of deformities that typify a conflicted, or overly idealistic, design process.

日本語の意味

委員会（またはグループ意思決定）の過程で、多くの相反する、もしくは経験不足の意見を組み込む結果、設計やプロジェクトが非効率的で不格好なものになってしまう現象を皮肉的に表現する諺。 / 個々の専門性を欠いた集団決定により、正常な設計が阻害され、結果として馬（機能的にも美的にも優れたもの）がラクダ（奇妙な形状や欠点だらけのもの）になってしまうことを揶揄する表現。

Engineers joked that a camel is a horse designed by a committee when they saw the machine's awkward attachments and incoherent controls.

委員会の決定で作られた設計は、対立する未熟な意見が入り混じってしまい、しばしば不格好で妥協だらけの成果物になることが多い。

意味（1）

An expression critical of committees — which by analogy can extend to both group decision-making as well as abstract or unrelated managerialism — by emphasizing the weaknesses of incorporating too many conflicting and inexperienced opinions into a single project. The distinguishing features of a camel, including its humps, plate-shaped feet, habitual spitting, strange shape and poor temperament, are treated as the sort of deformities that typify a conflicted, or overly idealistic, design process.

A camel is a horse designed by a committee, so we hope that this committee will—and I think it will—function appropriately.