The Importance of Good Software

This example goes right to the heart of why software development is important. For me and thousands of others, this is a "mission-critical" application. In most embedded applications we can really ignore the details. If software in a microwave oven occasionally malfunctions, at worst we might overcook something. But we really want the software that manages the ABS braking in our cars to work all the time, along with all the other software systems in our vehicles to control engine performance, traction, ventilation, instrumentation, and so on. Getting interdependent systems like these to function properly isn't easy. And as the number of interacting, distributed software systems increases, the probability of unforeseen error rises.

We want to trust the software that increasingly runs the world we live in, but unless you work within the software development industry, you probably know little about how software is created, tested, or fielded. Software quality varies widely. We hope that higher-quality software resides in the more mission-critical applications; otherwise, disaster awaits.

During the past 20 years, software professionals have made considerable progress toward getting "engineering discipline" into software development. Usually this means a better, more consistently practiced "process." This is a good thing, but it is far from the total solution. While lack of process can often derail a project, good process never created good software.

To make good software, you need good people. And, just as important, you have to manage them intelligently. Software developers, or programmers as we used to call them, get a bum rap: Everything that goes wrong is assumed to be their fault. In fact, most bad software results from less-than-inspired programming coupled with sloppy management. That combination causes software that works most of the time but not always, and that's not good enough.