Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!purdue!spaf
From: spaf@cs.purdue.EDU (Gene Spafford)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Software Engineer Licensing (Was Re: A Cynic's Guide, part 1)
Message-ID: <3540@medusa.cs.purdue.edu>
Date: 16 Mar 88 18:31:00 GMT
References: <5321@utah-cs.UUCP> <1692@desint.UUCP> <5335@utah-cs.UUCP> <1694@desint.UUCP> <760@td2cad.intel.com>
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Reply-To: spaf@uther.cs.purdue.edu.UUCP (Gene Spafford)
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In article <760@td2cad.intel.com> jreece@td2cad.UUCP (John Reece ) writes:
>The problem with the software industry is not individual competency, it's that 
>the law tolerates corporate incompetency.

Not so!  It is simply a case that tort law evolves slowly, and there
haven't been enough suits yet to lay a firm foundation.  It's
happening, though.  There is still some question about whether
professional malpractice can be claimed, but negligence and liability
suits are beginning to show in larger numbers.  Software caused deaths
and major property losses have occurred, and you can be sure someone is
going to pay for those!

Courts have ruled that standard disclaimers don't always hold in
software cases, so legal protection there is eroding.  Insurance firms
are beginning to look at software engineering requirements being met
before issuing insurance, and government agencies are beginning to
require certain standards of practice in software contracts.  All of
these point to an increasing market force to promote care and
competence -- not necessarily a bad thing to promote, either.  I doubt
corporations will be able to ignore these issues much longer (at least,
the ones not already aware).

Anyone care to wager how long before the first malpractice/negligence
suit is filed because a company wrote a (failing) system in assembly
language instead of a higher-level language with type checking?  What
do you think the effect on corporate America will be when that suit is
decided for plaintiff and tort precedent is established?  Bye-bye
toleration of "quick-and-dirty"!
-- 
Gene Spafford
NSF/Purdue/U of Florida  Software Engineering Research Center,
Dept. of Computer Sciences, Purdue University, W. Lafayette IN 47907-2004
Internet:  spaf@cs.purdue.edu	uucp:	...!{decwrl,gatech,ucbvax}!purdue!spaf