I think that "discipline" is a bit of trigger word for some folks, though. It can be seen to imply a personal failing, but as Bob's post explains "undisciplined

I think that "discipline" is a bit of trigger word for some folks, though. It can be seen to imply a personal failing, but as Bob's post explains "undisciplined" programming is usually a combination of personal and systemic problems I think you’re on to something here, but you’re not all the way there. I think “lack of discipline” is such an unsatisfactory explanation for anything, and almost never the root cause of any problems, as you claim in your first paragraph. The reason it unsatisfactory is that it leaves us with no other remedy than to try harder. But if the root cause is systemic, then merely trying harder is bound to fail. If we are to gain any insights, we have to look closely at the systemic issues that manifest themselves as a lack of discipline. Saying that the cause of undisciplined individuals is an undisciplined culture doesn’t really get us anywhere. We have to understand why a culture can get that way. What it often comes down to in my experience, are incentive structures inside or outside of that company that have negative side effects or are downright dysfunctional. Sometimes you can fix them, other times you just have to accept them and live with them.