bugs

[Garrett Hylltun]

Mark Wieder wrote:
> Garrett-
> 
> Thursday, April 6, 2006, 5:42:29 PM, you wrote:
> 
>> How can someone sleep at night knowing they've release software with
>> bugs in it?  Don't you feel guilty about it?
> 
> ROTFL. Let me interrupt an otherwise wonderful rant in progress with
> the following:
> 
> As a QA engineer, I'd love to find some bug-free software someday.
> Doesn't exist. Bug-free is code-free. In reality, somebody has to make

Bug free is not code free.  I have used a lot of software where no more 
bugs are being found.  I would consider any software that is being used 
on a regular basis by several thousands of users and no bugs being 
reported, bug free.  I'm sorry that you have had no such experience.

And I have noticed that most of this is coming from the small 
independent developers and not the larger scale development houses.  The 
smaller independents are more quality oriented, whereas the larger 
companies are only in it for the money.

Get out there and check into a lot of the independent software 
selections.  Check out their revision histories and see what these guys 
are doing.

> the hard decision with any piece of software about where to draw the
> line as far as which bugs *must* get fixed before this release ships
> and which can be punted until the next point release. The decision
> itself can be argued forwards and backwards, but that's a different
> issue from saying that software can't be shipped until *all* the bugs
> are out. I sometimes joke that my job in QA is to "prevent products
> from shipping", but the reality is that the inherent push-and-pull
> between QA and, well, everyone else, is aimed at reaching the decision
> point that results in the best possible product shipping *at that
> time*.

That is because the emphasis is on the money and not the product.  The 
product could be bug free, but the product is no longer the focus, the 
money is.  Companies sell ideas instead of products now.  Company Z will 
release such and such product on such and such date, pre-order now! 
Then in order to make good on the pre-orders and to save face on the 
release date, or make the investors happy and keep their money coming 
in, they rush the code and shove the product out there.  It was all 
about the money and not the product.

> This is not to say that there aren't some *major* bugs in rev which
> IMO need to be addressed immediately (especially the ones I've written
> up myself, of course), but if you wait for a bug-free product you
> might as well be waiting for a bug-free <enter your OS of choice>. Or
> a final Project Xanadu or something.

You are correct.  With the attitudes like I've seen regarding this topic 
  and the focus mainly on the money, then yes, there never will be.

-Garrett