Quick answer: New engineers default to fixing the bugs in front of them. A structured onboarding to triage teaches them to prioritize, not just react.
Triage discipline is a skill. New engineers need to learn it; new engineers won't learn it accidentally.
Shadow a senior in triage
Week 1: sit with a senior engineer during their triage hours. Watch the decisions; ask questions.
Triage a queue alone
Week 2: handle a small queue (10 reports) with senior review at the end. Learn to make calls; get feedback.
Own a queue
Week 3+: own a component's triage queue. Senior reviews weekly. Independence increases over a month.
Document the rubric
Each new engineer reads the triage rubric. The rubric is project-specific; document yours.
“Triage is a skill. Skills are taught; not inherited.”
If your team's triage is inconsistent, it's not a personnel issue. It's an onboarding issue. Fix the onboarding.