Anti-patterns and Malpractices in Modern Software Development (2015)
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I would argue that the world is not THAT pessimistic. The thing is that most people are totally fine with "just a little more" than what they need. They don't want the max, they want a little more than the min. Only a few people will try to exploit the commons to their max.
But then why is it that the "problem of the commons" seems so reasonable? Why do we experience this self destructive path so often if only a few will over-exploit it?
I believe this is the case because A) the few over-exploiters will also fight each other which leads to (self-)destructive results, and B) stopping over-exploiters requires open communication (=everybody would need to admit his little exploits) and cooperation (=trusting each other).
As a result I believe that forcing open information and forcing cooperation by rules (e.g. by separation of power, by having some people getting paid to reveal the exploits of others) would save the whole system from over-exploiters and I believe there are areas were we already achieved that to a meaningful degrees (e.g. in democracies in comparison to dictatorships).
It is true that software creation is messed up from all angles and the result is rarely clean. None of that is new. Yes, the software from the good old days was written better (not really, see all the security issues and don't forget that there is a huge survivor bias).
Iff software actually ships it has filled a need at a sufficient quality, adhered to budget, time and integration constraints. Software is usually a team effort due to the sheer size of work and knowledge required. Working with people can be challenging - either in a good or in a bad way. The latter is result of two people not getting along well. Considering that everyone else is the problem I wonder about the author.
None of the "problems" is truly fixable. Faced with each one there are things one can do and being content with that rather than trying to come up with some silver bullets.
Scratch that. May I share with you my holacratic software process?
Personally, I don't care about all of this, the project is done, I get paid and the wheel keeps on turning.
Talking about "real engineering" and not to discredit fellow engineers, most of their job is done by already manufactured formulas and software simulations. All those bridges, stadiums and buildings, started as bits and bytes.
The real difference is those projects are signed and you're liable if they collapse. There are no EULAs for bridges... Yet!