Amit Jain’s Post

Why do so many engineers, despite knowing the “best practices,” struggle to apply them? Most engineers today know what clean code means. They know why tests matter. They know version control etiquette, CI/CD, design principles, documentation hygiene… Yet when you look at the actual work, it’s full of shortcuts, inconsistency, and “I will fix it later” decisions that never get fixed. It’s not a knowledge gap. It’s a mindset gap. Many engineers operate in delivery survival mode. The focus quietly shifts from craftsmanship to completion. Leaders reward speed, so engineers prioritize velocity over sustainability. Soon, best practices turn into interview vocabulary rather than working habits. Leaders often say “quality matters,” but few build environments where it’s visible, measurable, and valued daily. We still celebrate quick deliveries far more than disciplined ones. Over time, this creates a silent tradeoff: do it fast now, fix it later. But “later” rarely comes. The fix isn’t another checklist; it’s about engineering the environment, not reminding people. What works well: -- Encourage engineers to explain why, not just what’s wrong (in code reviews, retros, etc). -- Spread good habits daily and organically (TDD, pairing, etc) -- Focus on how we built, not just what we shipped. -- Visible quality SDLC metrics, refactoring effort, test coverage trends, and learnability scores (on topics like AI, XP, teamwork). -- Independent engineering reviews. A neutral technical expert every sprint to assess code health and discipline. Their outside view resets the integrity bar before it slips too far. The goal isn’t to make engineers follow best practices. It’s to create a culture where best practices are simply how things get done. #EngineeringCulture #TechLeadership #AIinSoftwareDelivery

This analysis does not align with my experiences. I see that a lot of software professionals may know about the best practices you've outlined above, however that knowledge does not translate into the know-how. In other words, when it comes to actually doing it, few seem equipped to properly do it. Observing how many software professionals work, we see that they tend to spend a lot of time debugging the code they wrote. Debugging is not a very productive activity, therefore I'm not sure that your edict that developers prioritize velocity over sustainability stands. Debugging is one of the biggest velocity killers, and yet so many software professionals swear by it. Therefore, I don't see their focus being placed on velocity at all. They are much more interested in the correctness and sustainability. Which is why they are prepared to spend hours upon hours in a debugging mode.

To view or add a comment, sign in

Explore content categories