[zerkten]

This is tangential, but it could similarly be used to describe many support teams which staffed by non-technical folks, or are cut off from engineering for cultural, political, etc. reasons. It's a complete waste of energy, but for various reasons people get put in these situations and experiment instead of talking to an authority in another department, or getting an expert on their team. It can be sustained for a surprisingly long amount of time as well before someone gets called out on inaccuracies.