4 ms·

I swear software's biggest problem is that developers prioritize their own ergonomics over actually producing functional code. Imagine if auto engineers just de

by knolax 7y ago

I swear software's biggest problem is that developers prioritize their own ergonomics over actually producing functional code. Imagine if auto engineers just decided "safety is hard, let's just make deathtraps". I know the current narrative is that the 737 Max failed because of MBAs but it's a really big indictment that out of all the complex and hard to engineer systems in an aircraft it was poor software that caused the crash.

bregma 7y ago
It was a bad corporate ecosystem that caused the crash. The people at fault were the accountants that tweaked lines un Excel until they got the numbers they wanted amd then pressed reality into the service of those numbers. Bad software didn't eliminate pilot training on the new systems. Bad software didn't shortcut the required FAA safety certification on the system. Bad software didn't reduce the number of redundant sensors that fed the system. Bad beancounters did all that. C-levels in suits who got million-dollar bonuses for killing 346 people to gain marginally increased quarterly results. Don't blame the software.
jsjohnst 7y ago
> really big indictment that out of all the complex and hard to engineer systems in an aircraft it was poor software that caused the crash While I frequently point out how bad we are as an industry at making fault tolerant code, this part is just flat wrong. The software portion of the 737, while definitely flawed in a catastrophic way, would not have came to be if the aeronautics engineers had done their job and designed a flight worthy plane without software hacks. Not to imply the aeronautics guys are the root cause either though, the 737 Max fiasco is a top to bottom completely failure of Boeing as a whole, virtually every department involved in the Max has a significant reason to share in the blame.

4 ms·

I swear software's biggest problem is that developers prioritize their own ergonomics over actually producing functional code. Imagine if auto engineers just de

by knolax 7y ago

bregma 7y ago
It was a bad corporate ecosystem that caused the crash. The people at fault were the accountants that tweaked lines un Excel until they got the numbers they wanted amd then pressed reality into the service of those numbers. Bad software didn't eliminate pilot training on the new systems. Bad software didn't shortcut the required FAA safety certification on the system. Bad software didn't reduce the number of redundant sensors that fed the system. Bad beancounters did all that. C-levels in suits who got million-dollar bonuses for killing 346 people to gain marginally increased quarterly results. Don't blame the software.
jsjohnst 7y ago
> really big indictment that out of all the complex and hard to engineer systems in an aircraft it was poor software that caused the crash While I frequently point out how bad we are as an industry at making fault tolerant code, this part is just flat wrong. The software portion of the 737, while definitely flawed in a catastrophic way, would not have came to be if the aeronautics engineers had done their job and designed a flight worthy plane without software hacks. Not to imply the aeronautics guys are the root cause either though, the 737 Max fiasco is a top to bottom completely failure of Boeing as a whole, virtually every department involved in the Max has a significant reason to share in the blame.