Laws of Software Engineering · Saying
Saying
Hanlon's Razor
Do not assume someone is being malicious if carelessness explains it.
How to use it. In incident reviews, look for an explanation in the system before looking for a villain. It is almost always more accurate.
How it gets misused. Used to let the system off the hook. Sometimes the cause is neither malice nor stupidity: the system is rewarding the bad behaviour.
Related
- Saying The New View (Dekker) Human error is not a cause of failure. It is a symptom of trouble deeper in the system.
- Saying Just Culture A culture that holds people accountable for the work they did, while looking honestly at the system that shaped the choices they had.