02

Safety

Normalization of Deviance

The erosion of safety standards.

The article

If

When a minor rule is broken (e.g., skipping a test) and no immediate disaster occurs, the brain re-classifies this "deviance" as "normal." This is how catastrophic failures begin.

Then

If you see a "hack" or a bypassed alert, do not say "it worked before." Either fix it immediately or document it as high-priority technical debt.

Unless

Broken Windows Theory

Source

Diane Vaughan, The Challenger Launch Decision (1996) — coined while analyzing the NASA Challenger disaster.

Go to the source

See also