Software that is fudgeable has ways to bypass its own restrictions and validations. It also has controls as to when and who can do that.

Software that is fudgeable increases the robustness of the system for the user and models the real world better. It also shows that mistakes are not irreversible and can be managed putting them at ease.

Designing software that is fudgeable means considering what can be manually edited, what can be undone and what can be skipped. For instance, if a document upload is required, there might be a way for the admin to do it, there might be a way for the admin to replace an existing one, or for the admin to mark it as not required.

Fudgeable software has common sense because in the real world nothing is actually 100% required.

Examples of software being fudgeable

In Accura, users with a specific permission are allowed to apply on behalf of others. They can fudge the system and make it easier for others

Supplybunny allows certain people to move orders to any step in the process. It also logs who and when made the change.

Not fudgeable:

Uni-assist is not fudgeable and requires a lot of additional work for something that could have been a button.