To be cynical and uncharitable, in my experience non-engineering leadership tends to be receptive to the idea that engineers are by their nature wasteful and se

To be cynical and uncharitable, in my experience non-engineering leadership tends to be receptive to the idea that engineers are by their nature wasteful and self indulgent, and saying “just don’t do that stuff for it’s own sake” reinforces said leadership’s prejudices and will ingratiate you with them. I’ve most often heard such arguments from people shitting on me for advocating for tests. But the bulk of my experience is with small startups where the stakes are high; tensions around productivity are natural, and working through them is essential.