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Legal and Ethical Issues III: "Lecture 2"

This document discusses failures and errors in computer systems. It notes that while most programs have errors due to complexity, professionals must study failures to avoid them and understand their impacts. Individual errors include billing mistakes from inaccurate data entry or interpretation. High-level causes include lack of clear goals, poor management, and pressure for low costs. A case study on a radiation therapy machine that severely injured patients revealed reused faulty software, weak interface design, and inadequate testing. The document advocates for techniques like redundancy, testing with real users, and professional responsibility to increase reliability and safety. It also discusses potential roles for law, regulation, and warranties.

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moad alsaity
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31 views

Legal and Ethical Issues III: "Lecture 2"

This document discusses failures and errors in computer systems. It notes that while most programs have errors due to complexity, professionals must study failures to avoid them and understand their impacts. Individual errors include billing mistakes from inaccurate data entry or interpretation. High-level causes include lack of clear goals, poor management, and pressure for low costs. A case study on a radiation therapy machine that severely injured patients revealed reused faulty software, weak interface design, and inadequate testing. The document advocates for techniques like redundancy, testing with real users, and professional responsibility to increase reliability and safety. It also discusses potential roles for law, regulation, and warranties.

Uploaded by

moad alsaity
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Legal and Ethical Issues III

“Lecture 2”
Failures and Errors in Computer Systems
 Most computer applications are so complex it is virtually impossible to
produce programs with no errors

 The cause of failure is often more than one factor

 Computer professionals must study failures to learn how to avoid them

 Computer professionals must study failures to understand the impacts of


poor work
Failures and Errors in Computer Systems
Individual Problems:

• Billing errors

 Inaccurate and misinterpreted data in databases


 Overconfidence in the accuracy of data
 Errors in data entry
 Lack of accountability for errors

• Wrong data entered into it.

• People incorrectly interpret data they retrieve.


Failures and Errors in Computer Systems
High-level Causes of Computer-System Failures:

 Lack of clear, goals and specifications.

 Poor management and poor communication among customers,


designers, programmers, etc.
 Pressures that encourage unrealistically low bids, low budget requests,

and underestimates of time requirements.


 Use of very new technology, with unknown reliability and problems.

 Refusal to recognize or admit a project is in trouble.


Case Study: The Therac-25
 Massive overdoses of radiation were given; the machine said
no dose had been administered at all
 Caused severe and painful injuries and the death of three
patients
 Important to study to avoid repeating errors
 Manufacturer, computer programmer, and hospitals/clinics all
have some responsibility
Case Study: The Therac-25
Software and Design problems:
 Re-used software from older systems, unaware of bugs in
previous software
 Weaknesses in design of operator interface
 Inadequate test plan
 Bugs in software
Case Study: The Therac-25
Why So Many Incidents?

 Hospitals had never seen such massive overdoses before, were


unsure of the cause
 Manufacturer said the machine could not have caused the
overdoses and no other incidents had been reported (which was
untrue)
 The manufacturer made changes to the turntable and claimed they
had improved safety after the second accident. The changes did not
correct any of the causes identified later
Increasing Reliability and Safety
What goes Wrong?
 Design and development problems
 Management and use problems
 Hiding problems and inadequate response to reported
problems
 Insufficient market or legal incentives to do a better job
 Re-use of software without sufficiently understanding the code
and testing it
 Failure to update or maintain a database
Increasing Reliability and Safety
Professional techniques:
 Importance of good software engineering and professional responsibility
 User interfaces and human factors
• Feedback
• Workload that is too low can lead to mistakes
 Redundancy and self-checking
 Testing
• Include real world testing with real users
Increasing Reliability and Safety
Law, Regulation :
 Criminal and civil penalties
• Provide incentives to produce good systems, but
shouldn't inhibit innovation
 Warranties for consumer software
 Regulation for safety-critical applications
 Professional licensing
 Taking responsibility
THANKS!
Do you have any questions?
[email protected]

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