[CLUE-Talk] Software quality

[Jeffery C. Cann]

On Saturday 09 December 2000 20:30, Kevin Cullis wrote:
> If you want to keep your job, I just talked with a recruiter yesterday
> and she stated taht the two IT shops closed up because of poor
> practices.  If software developers AND managers don't get the hint,
> we'll all lose our jobs down the road to India. It won't happen
> tomorrow, but the next day turns into next year.  While I'm not trying
> to scream like chicken little, I am trying to let you all know what's
> coming down the pipeline. Ignoring it like Luddites won't help you in
> the long run.

Kevin,

People have been arguing this for 25 years.  Read the 'Mythical Man Month' by 
Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.  ISBN 0-201-00650-2.

My point:  So called scare tactics like 'if you want to keep your job' fall 
on deaf ears.  I have not seen evidence that 'programmers from India' are any 
more qualified or concerned about quality than domestic programmers.  Despite 
the SEI certification, I would argue that if a shop is farming out 
development to save money likely does not care too much about quality (just 
my opinion).

If you want to convince people that quality is important, you should start 
with cogent arguments that show how much less it costs to produce software if 
you build in quality checks while the system is built.

The Business Week article draws parallels based on other industries, such 
as hardware manufacturing and automobile industries.  The fact is that 
building something tangible (hardware, autos) versus something intangible 
(sofware) is not comparable.   

I am interested in the CMM, however.  Unfortunately, this is just another in 
a long line of 'new ideas' that are never adopted.  Some previous ideas:  
'Structured Programming', 'Object-Oriented Programming', and TQA.  

My experience is that the accounting of software production is not at all 
accurate.  If software development were more like a factory, then management 
would not be so reluctant to collect statistics that prove software quality 
costs less the sooner it is implemented in a project.

All software managers seem to think about is the product release date.  They 
have some irrational fear that if the date slips, so will sales.  If sales 
slip, then the company is in trouble.  It is extremely hard to convince these 
pin heads that the company will make a lot more money if we would test 
sooner.  When someone concerned with quality breaks into management ranks, 
their ideas never seem to get implemented.

The US software market continues to accept (and pay for) lousy products.  
Even Ralph Nader commented on this issue  If people think the software 
they buy from Oracle or Microsoft (or Red Hat) stinks, then why on earth do 
they keep buying it?  This only feeds the cycle of non-quality assurance.  If 
consumers would say, 'I am not paying for Oracle 8i because many features I 
need are broken', then maybe Ellison and his gang of idiots would get a clue.

Like you, I want better quality in software.  I am sick of bugs that prevent 
me from getting my job completed.  Maybe Indian programmers will shock the US 
software companies into greater action.  Maybe will all be out of work soon.  
Like most things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.  OTH - If we are 
out of jobs soon, then we can write more GNU software!

Later,
Jeff

-- 
jccann [at] home [dot] com