Local Optimization occurs when one component improves its own metric or performance while reducing or failing to improve the performance of the wider system.
In systems analysis, the term is useful when it clarifies a mechanism, accumulation, constraint, or governance choice rather than serving as a vague label.
Read Local Optimization: Why Improving Every Department Can Worsen the Whole System and End-to-End Metrics: Measuring Flow Without Hiding Quality or Equity.