I am looking for an adjective for my system. I try to define the property that the system can bootstrap without requiring a critical mass of adoption. Meaning it can start functioning from zero and get adopted smoothly.
The idea is the opposite of requiring a tipping point. However, I cannot put my finger on it. It is also relevant to the notion of "first-movers advantage", but then again, not exactly what I am looking for.
Thank you for your time and help
Such a system is self-starting
capable of starting by oneself or itself
Or self-initiating
caused or facilitated to begin by oneself : initiated by oneself
The idea of critical mass is actually a little confusing in this question. If there is a critical mass, it is of something (fissile nuclear material, people exchanging ideas, reactive chemical constituents, etc) present in sufficient quantity to start a process (nuclear power generation or nuclear explosion, generation of new ideas, chemical reaction etc). The process is often described as a chain reaction.
chain reaction:
a number of events triggered by the same initial event
The chain reaction process started by a critical mass is therefore a only a special case of a self-starting process.
Self-starting does not relate to what happens after starting. The process may finish abruptly as in nuclear explosion; it may continue in a self-perpetuating manner as nuclear power generation or in a forest fire; it may proceed in some incremental way, with the addition of new material or ideas.
Continuous generation, explosion, incrementalism and self-perpetuation are therefore all secondary to the starting of the process and do not describe your key need for the gerundial adjective self-starting.
incremental (adoption)
incremental (adj.)
Of, relating to, being, or occurring in especially small increments
incremental additions
incremental change m-w
Incremental adoption approach. Companies are advised to start using Q-Rapids in a small product first in order to understand the solution and start to grow a base of tailored connectors and a quality model fit for purpose. Manuel Mazzara et al.; Software Technology: Methods and Tools (2019)
To design a solution which lays out the foundation for the systematic, incremental adoption of good ERP RE practice in cross-organizational projects, we applied the following two-stage design approach: .... S. Parthasarathy; Enterprise Information Systems and Implementing IT Infrastructures (2010)
... and major adoption characteristics of the cloud computing adoption framework for developing countries, i.e., an incremental adoption of cloud computing technology components—using available components instead of waiting for the availability of the entire solution. C. K. Ayo and V. Mbarika; Sustainable ICT Adoption and Integration for Socio-Economic Development (2017)
As stated by one respondent, "We would have been doing incremental research, not this enabling research which requires critical mass. U.S. Congress; FY 1996 TA/NIST Budget Authorization
