Answer to Question 1Two ways in which the use of an effective software development methodology can protect software manufacturers from legal liability for defective software are as follows:
- Reducing software errorssoftware errors can creep in at all stages of development. Poor communication between the customer and the software designer can result in software that does not meet the customers needs. Poor planning during the design or coding phases can result in logic errors within software. A poor user interface can cause users to enter bad data. Software development that follows a consistently applied methodology, employing techniques such as peer reviews, quality assurance testing, and customer feedback sessions, gives a development team the ability to prevent or eliminate such errors at each phase.
- Making negligence harder to proveliability is defined as being held legally responsible for a problem and having to pay damages. Negligence is the failure to take reasonable caution to prevent harm to others. Accidents happen, and in many liability cases, negligence must be proven before a defendant is held legally liable. Having a written software development methodology that has been consistently followed and includes industry standard techniques to reduce software errors shows that a company is not negligent. The trial process is very expensive, so preventing software problems is much cheaper than defending a liability claim in court.
Answer to Question 2Strict liability is when the defendant is held responsible for injuring another person, regardless of negligence or intent. Negligence is the failure to do what a reasonable person would do, or doing something that a reasonable person would not do. Note that when sued for negligence, a software supplier is not held responsible for every product defect that causes customer or third-party loss.
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