The Laws of Software Process

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THE LAWS OF SOFTWARE PROCESS

Update Frequency. This depends greatly on the particular design and

what it is supposed to achieve, but generally, hardware-resident knowl-

edge cannot be “updated” quickly. Having said that, of course, many hard-

ware designs incorporate their own adjustability, often through mechani-

cal dials and level settings and electrical potentiometer settings (see

Exhibit 5, for example). These adjustments can only operate over a narrow

and predefined range. “Updating” the knowledge outside of this range

requires redesigning and rebuilding the hardware device; therefore, hard-

ware typically has a slow update frequency.

Intentionality. While we do sometimes build machines, and through ser-

endipity find other uses for them, it is ...