My Letter to the Editor of New York Times Magazine
Blaming the user is a pernicious problem in UX engineering, especially when a feature is introduced not for the actual users, but the executives making the purchasing decisions.<p>MCAS was an economics driven decision by Boeing to be able to sell it as a &quot;no cost&quot; upgrade to existing 737 fleets. &quot;You get all this and you don&#x27;t need to retrain your people&quot;<p>The entire concept of the 737 MAX was flawed, marketing an inherently unstable aircraft with a patched undocumented system to control that instability. Then, incredibly, making the safety indicators an <i>optional</i> extra was criminal.<p>The FAA is also liable for regulatory capture and handing over its responsibilities the actual organization it is supposed to be supervising.<p>Ultimately, it&#x27;s an example of what happens when MBA execs, convinced that they can run &quot;any business&quot; take over from a rigourous engineering culture. The Harvard (and other) Business Schools have a lot to be blamed for.