Sometimes you just have to look at the hardware product. A company which solders in batteries, for example, is probably not big on maintainability. Likewise, i

Sometimes you just have to look at the hardware product. A company which solders in batteries, for example, is probably not big on maintainability. Likewise, it it takes a special tool to gain access, it's likely not been designed by maintainability motivated engineers. For software it's a little harder. I think having fewer options, fewer knobs, and a simpler intuitive structure is an indicator of a bias towards maintainability. Also, not having source is a definite barrier to maintainability. BTW, I find it hard to believe that "_faster_delivery" and maintainability are in opposition. Most of us would agree that maintainable systems have fewer bugs at every stage. And experience has taught us that bugs, particularly subtle bugs, take a long time to find and correct.