Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
artifacts. Surveys of the IT industry reveal that more projects are being completed on
time and on budget, and fewer projects are being canceled. This may be evidence that
software engineering is having a positive impact. However, since most projects are still
not completed on time and on budget, there remains much room for improvement.
For many companies, shipping a product by a particular date continues to be a higher
priority than following a strict software development methodology.
Should software manufacturers be held accountable for the quality of their software,
or is a program a completely different kind of product than a socket wrench? An exam-
ination of the software warranties manufacturers include in their licensing agreements
reveals that they do not want to be held liable for any damages that occur from the use of
their software. Courts seem willing to treat software as goods, which means the damages
and warranty provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code may apply, despite what may
appear in a software warranty. However, courts have been reluctant to treat software pro-
grams as products, which would expose software manufacturers to the theory of strict
liability.
1.
What is the difference between a data entry error and a data retrieval error?
2.
What reasons did the US Department of Justice give for no longer requiring the FBI to
ensure the accuracy of information kept in the NCIC databases?
3.
What is an embedded system? What is a real-time system?
4.
What does a linear accelerator do?
5.
What was the most important difference between the Therac-20 and its successor, the
Therac-25?
6.
How long was the Therac-25 in operation before the first documented accident? How
much longer did it take for the system to be declared unsafe?
7.
What is a race condition in software? Why are race conditions difficult to debug?
8.
The following reasons have been given for the failure of computerized systems:
a. A system designed for one purpose was used for another purpose.
b. Software was reused without adequate testing.
c. There was an error in storing or converting a data value.
d. A line of code became a single point of failure.
e. The overall system was too complicated to analyze.
f. There was a software race condition.
g. There was another software error (not listed above).
For each of the systems listed below, select the principal reason or reasons why it
failed to operate as specified.
Patriot missile
Ariane 5
AT&T long-distance network
Mars Climate Orbiter
Mars Polar Lander
