People make quality happen (or don't)

Abstract

In a free market, every demand will result in a supply. So, if everybody wants high quality software, why don't we have it? This article analyses the actual demand, and the expectations of producers and customers in the software market. Various aspects of software quality are discussed, and a taxonomy is provided (chapter 2). The actual need for high quality software, and the obstacles to producing it, are discussed in chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 5 addresses the relationship between price and quality. Finally, in chapter 6, the cultura] aspects of high quality are presented.