[lug] software engineering

[dio2002 at indra.com]

I kind of got sucked into reading this thread.. some good exploration
going on here.  the topic of the shuttle basically led me to this
conclusion on the topic:

Engineers are humans, and humans are infallible.  doesn't matter whether
you're a software or a mechanical or an electrical (other title) engineer.
 it comes down to the person.  and with regard to projects, more
importantly the group of persons involved.  there is no generalization
that one type of engineer is any better or more thorough than the other. 
especially today as "half ass" and "get it out the door quick and under
cost" and "promise before you can determine if you can fulfill" are
defacto ways of getting shat done these days.

the only thing that is sure is that poor workers do poor work and good
workers do good work.  everyone has their place at the right time and in
the right place.  some people show up for work and some don't.  that's the
same whether you're pumping gas up the street, cranking out code or
leading a nation.

the shuttle example is proof.  if "traditional" engineers are so superior,
why has the shuttle program failed for years?  don't give me that jive
about it being "so complex".  they got plenty of dough and i assume they
have access to some of the top talent possible and yet their people aren't
getting the job done. period.

examples are strife the world over from big to small projects.  the
tunnels in boston, the everglades in florida, my latest download of
firefox which is worse than my old mozilla, to the saran wrap i buy that
don't cling to a thing accept itself ;-).

>I think you need to examine the software policies of places like the
>Shuttle program or nuclear reactors or submarines or....

>If you're trying to compare test pilot testing of flight systems to
>desktop office applications, you're not really comparing reasonably
>identical systems.

size really doesn't matter IMHO.  if you take what you do seriously and
are concered about quality, every project whether small or big will scale
appropriately and get it done.