6.033 | Spring 2018 | Undergraduate

Computer System Engineering

Week 1: Operating Systems Part I

We Did Nothing Wrong Assignment

Read “We Did Nothing Wrong: Why Software Quality Matters” by Deborah Gage and John McCormick in Baseline Magazine on March 4, 2004. This paper details a number of software systems that failed in spectacular ways, with most of the focus on a radiation machine made by Multidata called the Cobalt-60.

As you read, think about the following:

  • What fault(s) contributed to the failure of the Multidata machine?
  • Are there quality-control procedures that might have made a difference?

Question for Recitation

Before you come to this recitation, write up (on paper) a brief answer to the following (really—we don’t need more than a sentence or so for each question):

  • What was the Cobalt-60?
  • How did it fail?
  • Why did it fail?

(There are multiple possible answers to each of these questions.)

Course Info

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As Taught In
Spring 2018
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Lecture Notes
Written Assignments
Projects with Examples
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