F. Khosmood and C.S. Turner (USA)
Software process, negligence, workflow modeling, liability
Negligence liability is a rapidly increasing area of concern for software engineers and designers. The implications of negligence are sufficiently severe that most companies can no longer ignore the legal consequences of engineering design decisions [1][2]. As engineers and industry participants, it is our duty to balance the interests of public safety against our own profits. This paper continues previous work [3] toward a comprehensive software process augmented to include preliminary legal tasks and milestones. Specifically the implementation of the first part in the proposed model is further explored and suggestions are given. We shall call this step "discovery." Discovery1 consists firstly of the negligence analysis, before the design work begins. Secondly, it involves the recording of subsequent changes and tradeoffs and the updating of the negligence analysis during the design process itself. This method provides a foundation upon which the legal consequences of design decisions can be judged. Once the product is released, this method will help control and manage possible negligence claims rather than react to them.
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