[kharms]

Bad programming was not the sole or root cause but it was a cause, and people died. You can't punt on that unless you want software engineer to actually mean code monkey. The same way a building architect has to sign off on the design demands of a a client, a software engineer on safety-critical systems must evaluate the spec and consider the effects of edge cases.

[quickthrower2]

While a SW engineer isn’t a code monkey, they are probably the last line in a chain that started with someone saying let’s bolt some oversized engines on this plane, and really even if there is a SWE who spotted the problem and pushed back, the only way to effectively make this software safe is to not need it, I.e design a new plane, and the only way to make that happen is to blow the whistle. So yeah a SWE could have done this but so could anyone involved earlier in the chain.

[peteradio]

What do you suppose the spec was here and how did the Engineer neglect to fulfill it? These specs are very compartmentalized, you think the Engineer is responsible for the big picture understanding and gets to take it up with the VP? No.

[delfinom]

Yea, at a company like Boeing. They compartmentalize the fuck out of the engineering perhaps a bit too far.