“It's already bad, so who cares." Teams don't say this out loud, but it...
“It's already bad, so who cares."
Teams don't say this out loud, but it quietly happens all the time.
Examples:
🚩 Ignore tests
🚩 Ignore usability
🚩 Ignore the bugs
🚩 Ignore accessibility
🚩 Ignore inconsistency
🚩 Ignore bad / missing types
🚩 Ignore a slow build that’s getting slower
This is called the "broken windows" problem. When a building has broken windows, it quickly falls into further disrepair. People take the broken windows as a signal: Nobody cares.
The solution:
1. Start caring. Don't allow *more* broken windows. Draw a line. Starting today, we’re going to do better. Enforce this via CI if possible.
2. Make a plan to fix the existing broken windows over time.
