the job of programming can be fruitfully looked at from the point of view of testing alone — considering that the only real problem in programming is… - Gerald M. Weinberg

More often, then, we will be doing evaluation of programs not with respect to one another but with respect to a situation — a total situation — in which they are developed. Looking honestly at the situation, we are never looking for the best program, seldom looking for a good one, but always looking for one that meets the requirements.

The biggest new factor for determining how we judge the quality of code is the economic factor. A program that sells, and makes profits, is obviously better than one that doesn’t.

The Hawthorne Effect (“the process of being observed often motivates people to better performance”) can be the bane of scientific observation.