Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
cost overruns were not as large as in the first survey. Overall, the ability of companies to
produce software on time and on budget improved over this 15-year period.
Still, with only about one in three software projects being completed on time and
on budget, the industry has a long way to go. Rapid change is a fact of life in the
software industry. In order to stay competitive, companies must release products quickly.
Many organizations feel a tension between meeting tight deadlines and strictly following
software engineering methodologies.
As mentioned earlier, Leveson and Turner state that “there is always another software
bug” [48]. If perfect software is impossible, what should the rights of consumers be to
get compensation when programs malfunction? In this section we survey the software
warranties offered by some software manufacturers, how these warranties have held up
in court, and the variety of ways software vendors may be held liable for software defects.
Consumer software is often called
shrink-wrap software
because of the plastic wrap
surrounding the box containing the software and manuals. In the early years of personal
computers, consumer software manufacturers provided no warranty for their products.
Purchasers had to accept shrink-wrap software “as is.” Today many shrink-wrap software
manufacturers provide a replacement or money-back guarantee if the program fails.
Here is the wording Microsoft includes with its limited warranty for Microsoft Office
2010:
LIMITED WARRANTY
A. LIMITED WARRANTY. If you follow the instructions, the software will perform
substantially as described in the Microsoft materials that you receive in or with the
software.
B. TERM OF WARRANTY; WARRANTY RECIPIENT; LENGTH OF ANY IM-
PLIED WARRANTIES. THE LIMITED WARRANTY COVERS THE SOFTWARE
FOR ONE YEAR AFTER ACQUIRED BY THE FIRST USER....
D. REMEDY FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY. MICROSOFT WILL REPAIR OR
REPLACE THE SOFTWARE AT NO CHARGE. IF MICROSOFT CANNOT RE-
PAIR OR REPLACE IT, MICROSOFT WILL REFUND THE AMOUNT SHOWN
ON YOUR RECEIPT FOR THE SOFTWARE. IT WILL ALSO REPAIR OR RE-
PLACE SUPPLEMENTS, UPDATES AND REPLACEMENT SOFTWARE AT NO
CHARGE. IF MICROSOFT CANNOT REPAIR OR REPLACE THEM, IT WILL
REFUND THE AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR THEM, IF ANY. YOU MUST UNIN-
STALL THE SOFTWARE AND RETURN ANY MEDIA AND OTHER ASSOCI-
ATED MATERIALS TO MICROSOFT WITH PROOF OF PURCHASE TO OB-
TAIN A REFUND. THESE ARE YOUR ONLY REMEDIES FOR BREACH OF THE
LIMITED WARRANTY.
