[wpietri]

Specialization introduces opportunities for dysfunction, because it breaks a feedback loop. Dev -> QA is one of those. Google "throw it over the wall" to see how common the problem is. E.g.: http://kdc-blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/dont-throw-it-over-wall...

People are skilled economic resources, but they are also status-seeking monkeys that were mainly evolved for foraging, fucking, and fighting. If you don't keep that in mind when setting up an organization, there are risks. I'm asking how Valve handles them.

Regarding dishes, I'm not saying that one has to pick suboptimal solutions just for the sake of symbolism. Google, for example, has industrial dishwashers. But still, everybody picks up their trays, sorts the compost, recyclables, and landfill into proper bins, puts the utensils in the bins for used silverware, and then slots the tray and dishes into a conveyor that feeds into the kitchen. Could Google hire busboys? Sure. But they didn't, and I'd bet it's not an accident.