[tmorton]

It's impossible for us to give you a good answer from outside your company.

Sometimes, "best practices" are pure waste. Sometimes they are even counterproductive. Sometimes they will pay off immediately. Sometimes they will pay off for the company, but only after the current team has left and won't receive credit. Sometimes they would pay off for the users, but the company doesn't care about their users.

If possible, discuss the issue with a senior engineer (or two) on your team.

I would not get too confrontational with your manager. At the end of the day, your customer is your employer. But keep a note of the compromises that you're making, and remember if they cause any problems. Determining when to cut corners, and when to break out all of the formal methods, is an important part of your maturation as an engineer.