
Diane Vaughan and the normalization of deviance - samueladam
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professionalism/Diane_Vaughan_and_the_normalization_of_deviance
======
PaulHoule
Vaughn's "normalization of deviance" involving the space shuttle was a top-
down process of "We have a list of unacceptable risks that we have to accept,
and having meetings to manage these." Given that the shuttle had fundamental
flaws (e.g. it was the only manned space vehicle that didn't have an escape
system) that was the best they could do other than deciding that they weren't
going to fly it.

It was inevitable, however, that one of the unacceptable risks was going to
bite them, and it did, twice.

The term "normalization of deviance" is frequently used in the health care
context to describe something entirely different, a bottom-up process. That
is, nurses and doctors don't wash their hands, skip steps, etc. Upper levels
of the institution might fail to control this behavior, but it's a different
horror.

------
closeparen
The flip side of the normalization of deviance is the normalization of
policies and procedures that have no regard for on-the-ground reality.
Sometimes eliminating deviance is a devastating form of labor action:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-to-
rule](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-to-rule)

------
kryogen1c
To quote from a paper I read and love but cannot find, Meditations and
Reflections of a Naval Reactors Engineer (i would pay money for):

Because everyone cares deeply about about their jobs, mistakes tend to be
either extremely subtle or extremely glaring.

Normalization of deviance leads to the latter, although for different reasons.
It is to prevent things like this that the nuclear navy forces people to
rotate commands every few years.

