[akiselev]

Hardware development is fundamentally different and so is the software that goes along with it. When you have a firmware deadline dictated by a production schedule, it leaves a lot less room for feature and scope creep because there is a final "done"(-ish) state. Any changes to the firmware after the product has shipped are far more expensive and risky than starting a CI/CD build.

With the deadline, there is pressure to push employees as the production deadline approaches. In software where you and all your competitors can push changes to production at any time, that pressure exists 100% of the time - sort of like on a factory floor.

Edit: The other side of it is that hardware production depends on standardization far more than software. Once you have designed a part and a manufacturing process around it, the ROI of designing a new alternative is usually negative compared to improving part of the manufacturing process.