18 Control Risk
Risk is like fire: If controlled it will help you; if uncontrolled it will rise up and destroy you.
—Theodore Roosevelt
Why do we encounter so many problems while developing software systems? Perhaps because we are not accustomed to thinking ahead or anticipating the worst-case scenario. Hannes Jònsson, a computer science graduate student, wrote a useful example from daily life to illustrate the importance of prevention and early detection in producing high-quality software [Jònsson92]. The example is fire. Every big fire starts as a small one:
Scenario 1: Do nothing. Fires occur occasionally, and there is nothing we can do about it. This will lead to a disaster; there will be losses in both lives and property.
Scenario 2: Rely ...
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