Chris Wheeler wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I've had a few conversations lately with people around work about
> defects and how to address them in XP. One thing that keeps coming
> up is this: All software has defects, and software will always ship
> with defects in it.
>
> I used to believe that as reality. Now I am have changed my mind. I
> believe that a team can ship defect free software. Yet, when I talk
> about that, people tend to say that, yes, in theory this is true, but
> in practice, can never happen.
>
> What has been your experience? Do you beleive that software with
> zero defects is possible? Or do you think that we can never attain
> this goal on a software team?
Several years ago I was on a feature team at Nortel that
produced a normal-size feature that was identified by
the company as defect-free. So, as far as they were
concerned (and they were the ones paying us), it is
indeed possible to write defect-free software.
Was the software defect-free in the strictest sense?
I don't know. You never do, until/unless a bug is
discovered. One assumes the QA guys were as thorough,
diligent, and imaginative in testing our work as they
were in testing others'. But defects could have surfaced
long after deployment, and after we were scattered to
the winds.
We certainly tested all the bits and pieces as we developed,
because it was expected, we weren't rushed, we cared, and
we didn't want issues. XP was not widely known at the time
and we certainly weren't practicing it, but we were a small
team (3) and had excellent communication both among ourselves
and with the technical marketing contact (our surrogate for
the customer). I think the most significant words are
"we weren't rushed" and "we cared".
I have at other times written software about which no one
has advised me of defects, but can't remember any other
instance where I've been explicitly told, "no defects".
One data point. FWIW.
LB
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