Normalization of deviance (2015)
4 days ago
- #tech-culture
- #engineering-practices
- #normalization-of-deviance
- Women still face rejection in technical interviews for not being 'technical enough' despite strong referrals.
- Companies with large budgets often have inefficient processes, like slow approval for small expenses.
- Many tech companies, including those with stellar reputations, have flawed engineering practices.
- The use of the @flaky library in Python tests is widespread but often misunderstood and misused.
- Some companies prioritize product growth over operational excellence, leading to poor reliability and security.
- Google's security practices evolved from simple fixes (like adding 'z' to URLs) after embarrassing incidents.
- Microsoft improved its security only after severe exploits forced a cultural shift.
- The 'normalization of deviance' is a common issue where bad practices become accepted over time.
- Examples from healthcare show how ignoring best practices (like hand-washing) leads to preventable disasters.
- Tech companies often ignore weak signals (like new hires' concerns) until they become major issues.
- Incentives in tech often reward firefighting and feature shipping over maintenance and bug fixing.
- Large companies struggle to align incentives with best practices due to bureaucratic inefficiencies.
- Cargo culting—copying practices without understanding their context—is rampant in tech.
- Weak signals (like new hires' feedback) are often ignored until they become systemic problems.
- Building a strong engineering culture is a bigger productivity multiplier than specific tools or methodologies.