one-banana problem

one-banana problem n.  At mainframe shops, where the
   computers have operators for routine administrivia, the programmers
   and hardware people tend to look down on the operators and claim
   that a trained monkey could do their job.  It is frequently
   observed that the incentives that would be offered said monkeys can
   be used as a scale to describe the difficulty of a task.  A
   one-banana problem is simple; hence, "It's only a one-banana job
   at the most; what's taking them so long?"

   At IBM, folklore divides the world into one-, two-, and
   three-banana problems.  Other cultures have different hierarchies
   and may divide them more finely; at ICL, for example, five grapes
   (a bunch) equals a banana.  Their upper limit for the in-house
   {sysape}s is said to be two bananas and three grapes (another
   source claims it's three bananas and one grape, but observes
   "However, this is subject to local variations, cosmic rays and
   ISO").  At a complication level any higher than that, one asks the
   manufacturers to send someone around to check things.

   See also {Infinite-Monkey Theorem}.