The Semiconductor Division of Motorola wisely hosted a one-day seminar in the Detroit area, on the topic of "software safety." I was one of half a dozen speakers who addressed this topic from a variety of viewpoints. The common thread, however, was that adequate safety can only be achieved by significantly raising the level of professionalism prevalent in software development today. And that means more planning, more bookkeeping, and more checking in every phase of the process. As a freewheeling programmer by training and by preference, I do not welcome so much structure in my future. But I fear it is inevitable. And I welcome it in the community that is designing the anti-lock brake controllers for the next cars I buy.

I next visited a small company in Chicago that provides tracking software for most of the blood banks in this country. You can imagine what one missed test can mean in this era of blood-borne fatal diseases with no known cure. Even a mistyped zip code can obscure the identity of a persistent donor who has no business sharing sera with others. Here was a company that really understood the need for planning, recording, and checking every step of the way. Validating C and C++ code, in fact, is only the beginning. You have to make sure the customers use the code properly, or all that validation is for naught. If I ever need a transfusion, I'll breathe a bit easier after this visit.

My final stop was at R&D in Lawrence, Kansas. That's Intergalactic Headquarters for CUJ, in case you're not a reader of mastheads. I mostly edit this magazine via e-mail, fax, and phone. Such a feat would not be possible without a highly competent Managing Editor (Marc Briand) back at the ranch — and a well organized company to back him up. I was not the least bit surprised to find that R&D had tightened up procedures even more since my last annual pilgrimage. From the hinterlands, the result was a notable decrease in the number of visible panics and botches in producing CUJ. Again, I left a bit more relaxed than when I first arrived.

The common thread in all three visits was a greater reliance on controlling process to improve product quality. Software is a significant part of many products and services — and all predictions are that software will dominate more products and services as time goes by. Already, I see less emphasis on the particular choice of programming language or design methods, and more on reliably using the available tools. That may not be a great message for those of us who prefer coding to bookkeeping, but it's one you should not lightly dismiss.

P.J. Plauger
pjp@plauger.com