[SystemSafety] A Fire Code for Software?

[Chuck_Petras at selinc.com]

So Jack Ganssle has written a good article <
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.ganssle.com_tem_tem345.html-23article2&d=DwIBAg&c=zVFQZQ67ypsA9mYKSCqWmQHiVkCCaN-Gb60_N6TVnLk&r=zCwDz0h_ezUCVpbXoLT-zh0iTVdbymfdnT16kGAgelNE5W_nOFK-pESbjJCRy2gv&m=EXlK2RTydJ9dFQ3M6TTCTNQByQGVSNvelRsEfZBJZKA&s=V9mvQe_kIPN3s8Q3ISK7OtnaRX7M7m3ghABaqDqWGwc&e=> recounting the history of 
fire codes and comparing that to software. Here are some out takes.

"Fires like at the MGM were once common occurrences. Sweeping fires are 
today so unusual that the once dreaded word conflagration sounds quaint to 
our modern ears. Yet in 19th century America a city-burning blaze consumed 
much of a downtown area nearly every year."

"Fire has been mankind's friend and foe since long before Homo sapiens or 
even Neanderthals existed. Researchers suspect proto-humans domesticated 
it some 790,000 years ago. No doubt in the early days small tragedies - 
burns and such - accompanied this new tool. As civilization dawned, and 
then the industrial revolution drove workers off the farm, closely-packed 
houses and buildings erupted into conflagration with heartrending 
frequency."

"I quoted the Iroquois fire's report earlier. Here's that sentence again, 
with a few parallels to our business in parenthesis: 'They (the software 
community) seemed to be under the impression that they were required only 
to fight flames (bugs) and appeared surprised that their department was 
expected by the public to take every precaution (inspections, careful 
design, encapsulation, and so much more) to prevent fire (errors) from 
starting.', "

"Do you want fire codes for software? The techie and libertarian in me 
screams 'never!' But perhaps that's the wrong question. Instead ask 'do I 
want conflagrations? Software disasters, people killed or maimed by my 
code, systems inoperable, customers angry?' No software engineering 
methodology will solve all of our woes. But continuing to adhere to ad 
hoc, chaotic processes guarantees we'll continue to ship buggy code."

"When researching this a firefighter left me with this chilling thought: 
'I actually find bad software even more dangerous than fire, as people are 
already afraid of fire, but trust all software.'," 



Chuck Petras, PE**
Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc
Pullman, WA  99163  USA
http://www.selinc.com

SEL Synchrophasors - A New View of the Power System <
http://synchrophasor.selinc.com>

Making Electric Power Safer, More Reliable, and More Economical (R)

** Registered in Oregon.
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