Discipline over Ceremony

There’s too much complexity in software development to rely on ceremony alone - checklists and process documents won’t save you. You need muscle memory. Reflexes. Habits.

Process and ceremony are how you train: scaffolding, safety nets, training wheels. They help you develop the discipline to stay the course. But you’re most effective when the discipline becomes internalized and the ceremony can fall away.

You can learn discipline. Maybe. The cost of ceremony, on the other hand, is always there.