Reliability is at the heart of software – it keeps software running as intended, day in and day out. How are we used to taking care of the inner workings of software?
Trust is always earned from the users of the software, and the service will survive as long as it has active users. Software reliability is not just a promise; customer and end-user feedback is the measure of whether the software really rocks. When a customer starts using software, they expect it to work smoothly, without unexpected interruptions or errors.
We look at how reliability can be built into software development with the aim of ensuring the development of high-quality software that meets user needs. How can we build software that works consistently, is easy to maintain and update, and does not cause unexpected problems?
Thanks to digital transformation, our world has become significantly more networked in recent decades. We use several different information systems every day, and all of our data is stored in a variety of services.
Reliable software is important to us because we expect systems to run smoothly, without significant downtime, and that the data stored in the systems is secure and that users can get things done smoothly. Reliable software ensures that these systems can be trusted to work as expected and that the information they contain is secure.
At best, software is built over years or even decades, and with various integrations, software communicates with each other to form large, complex system entities. In software development, there has long been talk of technical debt, where structural issues accumulate in software and are postponed for later. Now it is time to also raise the issue of reliability debt related to software security, which over time can accumulate into a significant risk factor in large systems. Software reliability debt accumulates from untested code and poor-quality code that does not comply with agreed coding practices.
Software reliability is largely a matter of predictability. Reliable software works consistently in changing conditions, performs its tasks reliably and handles errors smoothly. It does not break down unexpectedly, and even if errors occur, they do not cause the entire system to crash. Instead, it recovers and continues to provide service, albeit with possibly limited functionality.
Building reliable software is not a one-step process, but rather an attitude of continuous commitment throughout the software development lifecycle. It requires thorough design, careful implementation, rigorous testing and controlled maintenance. In particular, it requires adherence to established software design principles. These principles provide a framework for creating software that is resilient, maintainable and reliable.
Software reliability is built on the principles of reliable software design, which are:
Testability: Reliable software must be testable. This means writing software in a way that makes it easy to check for errors using automated testing.
Maintainability: The code should be clear, well documented and follow a consistent style. This makes it easier to understand the software, fix errors and add new features.
Repeatability: The system's behaviour should be predictable and repeatable under unchanged conditions, enabling reliable testing and the tracking of errors and vulnerabilities.
Fault tolerance: Reliable software should be able to handle errors and exceptions while continuing to function to some extent even if something goes wrong. This includes input validation, the use of try/catch blocks, environment redundancy, and the implementation of backup or fault tolerance strategies.
Security: Software should be designed with security in mind to protect it from cyber attacks and ensure its reliable operation. Scalability: As the load or amount of data increases, the system should be able to respond to the increased demand without crashing or slowing down too much.
Modularity: Dividing the software into small, independent modules or components, each of which handles a specific functionality. This makes it easier to understand, test and maintain individual parts of the system.
Loose coupling: Components or modules should interact with each other as little as possible. This ensures that a change in one component does not accidentally affect other parts of the software.
High cohesion: Components or modules should do only one thing and do it reliably.
Abstraction: This principle means hiding the complexity of the system by revealing only the necessary information and functionality. This makes the software easier to understand and reduces dependencies.
Encapsulation: This principle means bundling data and the methods that process it into a single unit, such as in class-based object-oriented programming. This helps protect data and makes the system more reliable.
Redundancy: Including backup mechanisms to ensure that if one part of the system fails, another can take its place.
Software reliability is, above all, predictability. But how can reliability be verified in concrete terms? Software reliability is not just a promise; it can also be verified by designing metrics to monitor. There are several factors behind reliable software that can be measured and monitored systematically. Here are the key metrics for verifying reliability, from which you should select the ones that are appropriate for your software:
Reliability does not happen by chance, but is built through high-quality design, implementation in accordance with best practices, comprehensive testing, monitoring and analysis of the service status in production, protection of the service against data breaches, and, above all, listening to users.
The more complex the system, the more important it is to ensure the quality of the code. Agreed coding practices, proactive analysis and code reviews help identify poor quality. Software reliability must be managed systematically as part of the development process.
Software reliability is built by following the principles of reliable software design. Metrics must be defined for monitoring software reliability. Ultimately, software reliability is earned from service users through stable and reliable operation in all situations.
At Wirokit, we believe that lasting reliability comes from code that rocks. The right attitude and expertise help ensure software reliability. We are a safe choice to help you develop your capabilities, expertise and skills in reliable software solutions to ensure that, together, we can make the connected world a reliable place.
We Rock IT – let's code a more reliable world together!
Expert in reliable software and professional in secure information networks.
We Rock IT!
