Chapter 7: Sofeware Development

Vignette

1. Is this example of software problems holding up the introduction of a major new product and impacting a firm’s customers and suppliers unusual, or is it a common occurrence?

Yes, because not all software products are 100 %  not damage or some have defect.

2. What can organizations do to reduce the negative consequences of software development problems in the production of their products and the operation of their business processes and facilities?

For me it is better to insure the good quality and high performance level of the product because these are the important factors on which customers make purchasing decisions, and to meet the needs and wants of the consumer.

 

Patriot Missile Failure

Discussion Questions:

1. With the benefit of hindsight, what steps could have been taken during development of the Patriot software to avoid the problems that led to the loss of life?  Do you think these steps would have improved the Patriot’s effectiveness enough to make it obvious that the missile was a strong deterrent against the Seud?  Why or why not?

2. What ethical decisions do you think the U.S. military made in choosing to deploy the Patriot missile to Israel and Saudi Arabia and in reporting the effectiveness of the Patriot system?

I think the main reason why the U.S military made in choosing to deploy the patriot missile to Israel and Saudi Arabia because deploying missiles is the one way of detecting enemies, or radar for short.

3. What key lessons from this example of safety-critical software development could be applied to the development of business information system software?

Safety –critical software must also be prioritized because as a user we don’t know how safe the system was, once it fails it changes the environment of the system that can cause delays.