> But the government, in an effort to make sure there was absolutely no risk, mistakes, or accountability associated with software development, started adding more and more mandatory forms that had to be completed each time a developer checked something back in.

That's because "the government" is operating under different pressures than corporations. A corporation, big or small, screws up, only a handful of stakeholders are affected and raise a stink. If the government screws up, you're looking at headlines in the Washington Post.

Plausible deniability is a powerful force.