Editing Workaround (section)

{{for|the album|Workaround (album)}}
[[File:Miles Glacier Bridge, damage and kludge, 1984.jpg|thumb|right|Part of the [[Miles Glacier Bridge]], with a temporary repair after a [[1964 Alaska earthquake|1964 March earthquake]] which was finally repaired in July 2004]]

A '''workaround''' is a bypass of a recognized problem or limitation in a system or policy.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Arif Wibisono, Ibrahim Alhassan, David Sammon, Ciara Heavin, Gaye Kiely, Erma Suryani| year = 2019| title = Understanding Theory of Workarounds in Practice | journal = Procedia Computer Science | volume = 161 | issue = 3| pages = 187–194 | doi=10.1016/j.procs.2019.11.114| doi-access = free}}</ref> A workaround is typically a temporary fix<ref>"[[Information technology|IT]]: a temporary method for dealing with a computer or software problem until a more permanent solution is found: One easy workaround is to ..."</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=work around - Definition |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/work-around |website=Cambridge English Dictionary}}</ref> that implies that a genuine solution to the problem is needed. But workarounds are frequently as creative as true solutions, involving [[outside the box]] thinking<ref>"It requires that social workers think 'outside the box' - outside their normal frames of ...</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=ndigenous Social Work Around the World: Towards Culturally Relevant |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0754648389  |isbn=978-0754648383 |author1=Mel Gray  |author2=John Coates  |author3=Michael Yellow Bird |date=2008| publisher=Ashgate Publishing }}</ref> in their creation.

Typically they are considered brittle<ref>{{cite web |title=Workaround [#1176558]  |website=Drupal.org |date=2 June 2011 |url=https://www.drupal.org/node/1176558}}</ref> in that they will not respond well to further pressure from a system beyond the original design. In implementing a workaround it is important to flag the change so as to later implement a proper solution.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Fix the 'A [?]' Autocorrect Bug in iOS 11 When Typing 'i' |date=7 November 2017 |url=https://ios.gadgethacks.com/how-to/fix-a-autocorrect-bug-ios-11-when-typing-i-out-your-iphone-0181016}}</ref>

Placing pressure on a workaround may result in later system failures. For example, in [[computer programming]] workarounds are often used to address a problem or [[anti-pattern]] in a [[Library (computing)|library]], such as an incorrect [[return value]]. When the library is changed, the workaround may break the overall program functionality, effectively becoming an [[anti-pattern]], since it may expect the older, wrong behaviour from the library.

Workarounds can also be a useful source of ideas for improvement of products or services.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theanthroguys.com/2009/09/17/can%E2%80%99t-you-just-ask-people/ |title=Can't You Just Ask People? |publisher=TheAnthroGuys |access-date=2014-08-08}}</ref>