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From: nancy@murphy.ICS.UCI.EDU (Nancy Leveson)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: some advice to a software engineer
Message-ID: <9009192047.aa05637@PARIS.ICS.UCI.EDU>
Date: 20 Sep 90 03:49:06 GMT
Reply-To: nancy@ICS.UCI.EDU
Lines: 22
In-reply-to: Your message of 19 Sep 90 16:46:04 +0000.
             <112@pdxgate.UUCP>


	 I'm not saying this is the right thing to do but keep in mind the
         junk developer will be around to pay those dues ... the outfit who
         delivered late to achieve quality will probably be out of business
         ...

But their customers may not be around.  Nobody has mentioned that the small
business that buys the junk software often goes out of business or loses
their shirt as a result.  I have met many people who have suffered serious
losses including bankruptcy because of junk software.  So that the software
developer will make money, they may be knowingly selling a defective product
that they know is likely to harm others.

Yes, I have heard of caveat emptor.  We expect this type of argument from
used car salesmen, patent medicine salesmen, and various types of con artists,
but we also do not treat these people as "professionals" and we pass laws to
protect society against them.   Is that the way we want society to view us?

I know that it is impossible to provide perfect software.  But there is a
difference between putting out the best product we can or one that we feel
meets minimum professional standards and putting out something we know
does not meet those standards.