Computers as Components, 2nd Edition

9.1 Design Methodologies 439

A good methodology is critical to building systems that work properly. Delivering

buggy systems to customers always causes dissatisfaction. But in some applications,

such as medical and automotive systems, bugs create serious safety problems that

can endanger the lives of user s. We discuss quality in more detail in Section 9.5.

As an introduction, Application Example 9.1 describes problems that led to the

loss of an unmanned Martian space probe.

Application Example 9.1

Loss of the Mars Climate Observer

In September 1999, the Mars Climate Observer, an unmanned U.S. spacecraft designed to

study Mars, was lost—it most likely ...