Missing The Mark

Yesterday I made a broad claim about the applicability of various subjects to the task of software development. Today I want to give a specific example from the realm of theology.

The notion of sin is foundational to a number of world religions. Without belaboring the details or arguing the validity of any one definition, what cannot be disputed is that humans have been wrestling for a long time with their own limitations. Why is it that none of us are able to live up to our own ideals, let alone the ideals of a faith tradition? Why must it be that “nobody’s perfect”? To quote Saint Paul,

I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate . . . I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Great stories confront us with the fickle imperfections of human nature as well. Is not human frailty and the conflict that arises from it the very foundation of an epic tale? Nothing proves this truth quite like “fiction”.

What does this have to do with software? Let me repeat myself: software is made by humans, and the results are subject to their constraints. That means you can expect both errors of omission and commission, and both unintentional mistakes (e.g. a developer fails to adequately review code) and deliberate laziness, cheating, pride, etc. One certainly hopes for few instances of the latter, but they do happen. It’s not just time you have to plan for.

A process must be designed to recover from its own imperfect implementation, else it is doomed to fail.