Software quality: The elusive target

High-profile disasters and the ensuing debates in the press are alerting more people to the crucial nature of software quality in their everyday lives. This should prompt software professionals to take a second look at how they define software quality. In this task of assessing 'adequate' quality in a software product, context is important. Errors tolerated in word-processing software may not be acceptable in control software for a nuclear power plant. Thus, the meanings of 'safety-critical' and 'mission-critical' must be reexamined in the context of software's contribution to the larger functionality and quality of products and businesses. At the same time, software professionals must ask themselves who is responsible for setting quality goals, and make sure they are achieved.