September 2nd, 2004
Software's Dirty Little Secret
Sometimes we settle for things as they are simply because we’re either complacent or oblivious to better possibilities. So why do we continue to invest in software that is not secure, (leading us to buy more software to fix the holes that shouldn’t be there), ill-fitting, expensive, and of low quality? That’s software’s dirty little secret says Jason Bloomberg, an analyst with ZapThink. In an article, he argues that software is almost always of low quality because it’s generally built for specific purposes.
…today’s common understanding of what software quality means is lacking, because those definitions apply to purpose-built software. We must take a step back, so that we can judge software quality based upon its flexibility and agility, rather than how few defects it has, or how well-documented the process of creating it might be.
Service orientation is one of the key mechanisms for leaving the world of low-tech, low-quality software behind, and achieving higher goals for software, according to Bloomberg. The article highlights some of the progress made toward that vision.
