Monday, January 15, 2007

Quality is Free

The business value of software quality "Organizations that develop low-quality software, whether for internal use or for sale, are always looking backward, spending time and money on fixing defects in "finished" products."

"One common misconception about quality is that it can be traded for improved development speed, reduced development budgets, or added functionality. In practice, however, most organizations find the opposite is true. In the long run, improved quality enables teams to deliver more projects on time, at lower cost, with more features. We should realize that Meskimen's law -- "There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over" -- is a tongue-in-cheek adage for a reason. A development team that continuously ensures quality does it right the first time. By not introducing defects into the system throughout the entire development process, a team eliminates the time and cost required to find and fix those defects later on."

And why don't customers care about quality: "The simple answer is: “Because defective software works.” The reason it works, however, is because software doesn’t wear out, rot, or otherwise deteriorate. Once it is fixed, it will continue to work as long as it is used in precisely the same way."

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