I don't think it is a question of making a system idiot proof I think it is a question of not digging a hole and scattering leaves over it. The problem is not that people are idiots. In a large scale system, control is distributed. A lot of people have to work more or less independently to make things happen on a day to day basis. If the system is designed so that changes in one place impact things in a remote part of the system, problems are inevitable, no matter how good the people are. I call designs that have this property fragile .
I want to design systems which are not fragile, in part out of pride in doing a good job. But I am also in business to sell systems. If my customer can not make the technology work he will not buy it. Operations types at large corporations are a lot more hard-nosed than technology architects. I am sure we will continue to disagree on judgements about where to draw the line, but I believe we both share the goal of creating designs that will be practical to operate in real world environments. Regards, Hal >
