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Software design as taught today is terribly incomplete. It…

“Software design as taught today is terribly incomplete. It talks only about what systems should do. It doesn’t address the converse—things systems should not do. They should not crash, hang, lose data, violate privacy, lose money, destroy your company, or kill your customers.” quote by Michael T. Nygard
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““Software design as taught today is terribly incomplete. It talks only about what systems should do. It doesn’t address the converse—things systems should not do. They should not crash, hang, lose data, violate privacy, lose money, destroy your company, or kill your customers.””

Michael T. Nygard

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Software design often ignores what systems must avoid, leading to failures like crashes, data loss, and privacy breaches.

In simple terms: Design must prevent failures.

Key Takeaway

Plan for what can go wrong.

Themes

software design risk management failure prevention

Mood

concerned practical

Type

technical advisory

When to use this quote

  • product development
  • operations
  • security audits

Key Concepts

system reliability security data integrity

Questions to Reflect On

  • What failure modes have you overlooked?
  • How can you embed safeguards early?
A Different Perspective

cautionary

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