Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Software Issues: Risks and Liabilities

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age

Part of the book series: Texts in Computer Science ((TCS))

  • 3195 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the issues that arise out of the relationship between software developer and the buyer, including claims, user expectations, and the legal ramifications that may follow an unhealthy relationship. The discussion touches on standards , reliability , security , safety , quality of software, quality of service of software products, causes of software failures , developer and buyer protection, and techniques for improving software quality . Causes of software failures or poor performance of a software product are discussed attributing the causes to a variety of reasons but most notably human error, the nature of software itself, and the environment in which software is produced and used. Finally, historic examples of software-caused accidents are given including the Therac–25 , the Space Shuttle Challenger , the Indian Bhopal chemical accident, and the Chernobyl nuclear power accident. Both consumer protection and techniques for improving software quality are also discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Hamlet R (1988) Special section on software testing. Commun ACM 31(6):662–667

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Parnas D, van Schouwen J, Kwan S (1990) Evolution of safety–critical software. Commun ACM 33(6):636–648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Taylor J (1994) America’s loneliest airport: Denver’s dreams can’t fly. Kansas City Star, 25 Aug 1994. NewsBank, Transportation, fiche 43, grids D12–14

    Google Scholar 

  4. Neumann P (1995) Computer–related risks. ACM Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  5. Neumann P (1993) The role of software engineering. Commun ACM 36(5):114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Davis A (1985) Employee computer crime on the rise. Creative Computing, June1985, p 6

    Google Scholar 

  7. Leveson N (1995) Safeware: system safety and computers. Addison–Wesley, Reading

    Google Scholar 

  8. Littlewood B, Strigini L (1993) Validation of ultrahigh dependability for software-based systems. Commun ACM 36(11):69–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Ritchie D (1984) Reflections on trusting trust. Commun ACM 27(8):761–763

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Haag S, Raju MK, Schkade LL (1996) Quality function deployment usage in software development. Commun ACM 39(1):41–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Boehm BW (1989) Software risk management: principles and practices. IEEE Computer Society Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  12. Report of the presidential commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. https://www.history.nasa.gov/rogersrep/v2appg.htm

  13. Fitzgerald K (1990) Whistle-blowing: not always a losing game. IEEE Spectr 26(6):49–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Wikipedia. Service-level agreement. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service-level_agreement

  15. Sun Microsytems. Service Level Agreement in the Solaris OE Data Center. Informit. 24 May 2002. http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=26936

  16. Neitzke F (1984) A software law primer. Reinhold, New York

    Google Scholar 

  17. Linger C, Mills HD, Witts B (1979) Structured programming: theory and practice. Addison–Wesley, Reading

    Google Scholar 

  18. Johnson D (1994) Computer ethics, 2nd edn. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, p 134

    Google Scholar 

  19. Knight JC, Mayers A (1994) An improved inspection technique. Commun ACM 36(11):51–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

Further Reading

  • Banker R, Datar S, Kemerer C, Zeneig D (1993) Software complexity and maintenance costs. Commun ACM 36(11):81–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fetzer J (1988) Program verification: the very idea. Commun ACM 31(9):1048–1063

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gelperin D, Hetzel B (1988) The growth of software testing. Commun ACM 31(6):687–690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grady R (1993) Practical results from measuring software quality. Commun ACM 36(11):50–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laprie J-C, Littlewood B (1992) Probabilistic assessment of safety–critical software: why and how? Commun ACM 35(2):13–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leveson N (1991) Software safety in embedded computer systems. Commun ACM 34(2):34–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, USA

    Joseph Migga Kizza

Authors
  1. Joseph Migga Kizza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joseph Migga Kizza .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kizza, J.M. (2017). Software Issues: Risks and Liabilities. In: Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age. Texts in Computer Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70712-9_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70712-9_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70711-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70712-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation