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Thanks to harrisj for mentioning this find on metafilter:

Computerized physician system linked with increase in child mortality.

A hospital implements an off the shelf data management system, with the result of 1 extra patient death per month.

Granted, most of us are not working the medical industry. But while our clients may not be physicians, they do use software in processes that are vital to the health of their business.

One of the contributing problems in the above seems to be the human factor: getting the users and the software on the same mental page. That’s a problem familiar to anyone working in software, no matter the industry.

You can practice test centric development, but how do you know your tests match your client’s needs? How do make your application work the same way your client thinks, so that they can use it effectively?

How do you ensure your code isn’t killing your client’s business?