Why destroyer development advances in waves

Can one destroyer class matter to destroyer development as much as Dreadnought mattered to battleships?

Usually not; destroyer development comes in production waves rather than hinging on one prestige ship.

Destroyers are built in quantity while experience and technical knowledge accumulate. Experimental ships can test features for a later generation, but widespread adoption waits until a navy can afford the new design in the required numbers. Major pulses of development are placed around the First World War and again in the mid-to-late 1930s. This production pattern makes a single destroyer less likely to transform its type as Dreadnought transformed battleship construction.