> I think complexity is definitely part of it but it is also mis-aligned incentives. The person running an assembly line has a vested interest in changing nothi

> I think complexity is definitely part of it but it is also mis-aligned incentives. The person running an assembly line has a vested interest in changing nothing. Is this really a case of mis-aligned incentives though? The person running the assembly line has an interest in the business model of the company not being destroyed, because their salary depends upon it working. So they'll try to prevent the worst (to the business model) from happening. Risking to break some important production process for a lousy low percentage potential gain in efficiency sure doesn't seem to be in the interest of neither the individual person, nor the company, nor the customer. As you write: the risks and benefits need to be carefully weighed perpetually .. simply an ongoing optimisation.