Accountability Glossary

Browse 7 accountability terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

7 Accountability Terms

Extreme Ownership: A leadership mindset that emphasizes taking strong responsibility for outcomes, communication, and team performance rather than deflecting blame. In culture,...
Git Blame Culture: A team dynamic where version history is used primarily to assign fault instead of understand context and fix problems constructively.
I Broke It: A direct admission of responsibility for causing a technical problem. In engineering slang, saying 'I broke it' can be painful but is often the fastest path...
Owner: The person, team, or role formally accountable for a system, dataset, control, or risk decision. In security governance, assigning a clear owner is essential...
Risk Owner: The person or role accountable for deciding how a specific risk will be handled and for accepting the consequences of that decision. A risk owner is not always...
Wall of Shame: A public list or display of failures, offenders, or anti-patterns meant to create pressure through visibility. In engineering slang, walls of shame can...
You Break It You Fix It: A principle that the people who cause a problem should help resolve it. In engineering slang, this creates stronger feedback loops between shipping decisions...