"But ours is a world always in flux, where the laws of physics change weekly. If we did not quickly adapt to the unforeseen, the only foreseeable event would be our own destruction."
The "laws of physics" as they apply to software are the same now as they were in 1968 when the term "software crisis" was created. They're mathematics, logic, and algorithms---not the physics of engineers, but just as rock solid. All of the "flux" and change are either getting a new model of bulldozer or changing the color of the paint in the bathroom.
And yes, clients change their requirements in every other field, too. The major difference is that those other fields have the scones to tell the client, "That will cost more." There is one difference, though.
"You need a license to be a “principal engineer”, a.k.a. the person who formally signs off on plans as valid."
Yes, you need someone who accepts bottom-line responsibility. That is something that exactly no one in software development wants.
Now, me, I don't claim to be any kind of engineer. (Unless I'm running the train. Toot! Toot!) I'm a programmer. That's not because I don't feel what I do to be engineering-ish. It is because I find that what passes for the actual field of "software engineering" (https://www.computer.org/education/bodies-of-knowledge/softw...) is entirely disjoint from the production of software.
"But ours is a world always in flux, where the laws of physics change weekly. If we did not quickly adapt to the unforeseen, the only foreseeable event would be our own destruction."
The "laws of physics" as they apply to software are the same now as they were in 1968 when the term "software crisis" was created. They're mathematics, logic, and algorithms---not the physics of engineers, but just as rock solid. All of the "flux" and change are either getting a new model of bulldozer or changing the color of the paint in the bathroom.
And yes, clients change their requirements in every other field, too. The major difference is that those other fields have the scones to tell the client, "That will cost more." There is one difference, though.
"You need a license to be a “principal engineer”, a.k.a. the person who formally signs off on plans as valid."
Yes, you need someone who accepts bottom-line responsibility. That is something that exactly no one in software development wants.
Now, me, I don't claim to be any kind of engineer. (Unless I'm running the train. Toot! Toot!) I'm a programmer. That's not because I don't feel what I do to be engineering-ish. It is because I find that what passes for the actual field of "software engineering" (https://www.computer.org/education/bodies-of-knowledge/softw...) is entirely disjoint from the production of software.