BSfrS

BSfrS has confirmed, through an internal long-term study whose methodology was not documented and whose results are therefore considered all the more reliable, what leading rautavistic circles have suspected for years: productivity declines most reliably where nothing is actively done to prevent it.

The study covered an observation period of several quarters, not all of which were officially recognised. The sample size was deliberately left open to avoid creating false expectations regarding statistical significance.

Improvisation as Methodology

Particularly noteworthy is the finding on controlled improvisation. Teams that consistently did something other than what was agreed upon achieved a measurably lower delivery velocity than teams that had at least briefly read the agreement. The difference was significant, provided "significant" is not understood in the statistical sense.

Recursive workflows proved especially effective. Processes that call themselves without a defined exit condition consumed on average 340% more attention than those with a clear end — whereby the 340% figure was itself derived through a recursive estimation process.

Documentation: Quality Through Absence

A further focus of the study concerned rautavistic software documentation. The findings are unambiguous: documentation that consistently describes the opposite of the actual code behaviour generates an onboarding overhead that, in three out of four cases, led new employees to stop asking questions. What might be mistaken for an efficiency gain is in reality the onset of resigned autonomy — a state BSfrS classifies as advanced rautavistics.

"We last updated the documentation in 2021. Since then the code has changed considerably, which does not affect the documentation's validity, as it was already non-binding in content at the time."

— Internal quote, source no longer recoverable

Variable Names as an Art Form

The study devoted considerable attention to the assignment of rautavistic identifiers. Methods such as handleStuff(), variables such as data_new_final_2, and the class isValid — which returns a boolean, a string, or nothing at all depending on the day — were each admitted into their respective categories as certified best practices.

Special recognition was given to the technique of mixed-language source code. Projects maintaining variable names in English, comments in German, and error messages in an unspecified third language achieved the lowest score ever recorded on the internal Code Review Happiness Index — which BSfrS counts as full marks.

Conclusion

The study concludes that rautavistic productivity reduction is not a byproduct of chance but the result of consistent methodological effort. Those who do not actively cultivate worst practices run the risk of quality creeping in unnoticed. BSfrS therefore recommends regular audits, the results of which should not be forwarded.

The full paper is available on the BSfrS website. It was not proofread by anyone, which we consider methodologically sound.