Both of these metrics are vital. If we lean too hard into getting things done, quality takes a dive, but if we lean too hard into quality it's impossible to ship. A healthy balance which is constantly re-evaluated and challenged is a key ingredient to our culture.

All software is a collection of decisions. Should we build a system to do this generically, or simply handle this one case? Is this a separate module, or do we need to expand the scope of our existing module? As we navigate these decisions it's often tempting for team members to decide that they know the One True Way™ and that everyone else is an idiot for not understanding their brilliance. These engineers do not do well at Exogee, because we all recognise that decisions which were perfect when they were made are often wrong in hindsight. Pragmatism is a crucial element of our culture.

Many companies think they should aim for a mistake rate of precisely zero. We recognise that often the only way to learn is through doing, and especially doing it with gusto, then seeing what you built go catastrophically wrong. We make space for everyone on the team to do things they haven't done before, and provide guard rails such that if it goes sideways we can rescue the situation before it affects a client. We value failure as a means to deepening our knowledge and skills.