Software nightmares

• Main Author: THULASIDAS, Manoj
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2008
• Subjects: Finance and Financial Management; Software Engineering
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/3510; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sis_research/article/4511/viewcontent/w2008_09_Nightmare.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

To err is human, but to really foul things up, you need a computer. So states the remarkably insightful Murphy’s Law. And nowhere else does this ring truer than in our financial workplace. After all, it is the financial sector that drove the rapid progress in the computing industry – which is why the first computing giant had the word “business” in its name. The financial industry keeps up with the developments in the computer industry for one simple reason. Stronger computers and smarter programs mean more money — a concept we readily grasp. As we use the latest and greatest in computer technology and pour money into it, we fuel further developments in the computing field. In other words, not only did we start the fire, we actively fan it as well. But it is not a bad fire; the positive feedback loop that we helped set up has served both the industries well.