What would you do?

[Buffoon]

Not that it’s happened to me you understand, but suppose that you had discovered a serious bug in one of the low levels of a product that you earn your living from. It’s been there for years and nobody has complained. The bug gives crap figures after 3 significant digits but is supposed to give 5 or 6. I’ve got a fix done, but it causes the whole output to shift by more that day-to-day movement would normally be.

Do I (ops) Would you:

1. Put your hands up and take the consequences which may mean loss of business or even legal action,
2. Keep quiet, not release the fix. If nobody has spotted the error, why worry.
3. Release the fix and say nothing and hope no one notices,
4. Wait for greater market moves i.e. next time the US Fed moves and release it then,
5. Introduce a fiddle factor so that the change happens over a short period of time,
6. Other.

[The Lone Gunman]

You missed the microsoft option:

Sell a new version of the software which is more accurate and wipes out some known bugs.

[ZZZZ Snoozer]

Not that it’s happened to me you understand, but suppose that you had discovered a serious bug in one of the low levels of a product that you earn your living from. It’s been there for years and nobody has complained. The bug gives crap figures after 3 significant digits but is supposed to give 5 or 6. I’ve got a fix done, but it causes the whole output to shift by more that day-to-day movement would normally be.

Do I (ops) Would you:

1. Put your hands up and take the consequences which may mean loss of business or even legal action,
2. Keep quiet, not release the fix. If nobody has spotted the error, why worry.
3. Release the fix and say nothing and hope no one notices,
4. Wait for greater market moves i.e. next time the US Fed moves and release it then,
5. Introduce a fiddle factor so that the change happens over a short period of time,
6. Other.

No. 3. though 2. is tempting....

[Mr Crosby]

5 sounds about right

[foritisme]

1. This shouldn't be an issue if it as been signed off by the end-user. Can't you get a '3rd party' to discover the bug and allow this 'person' to fix it ?

[Buffoon]

You missed the microsoft option:

Sell a new version of the software which is more accurate and wipes out some known bugs.

Funny you should say that. That's how I started in the first place. Not sure I can get away with it so soon.

[BrilloPad]

"US Fed moves" - sounds like some sort of bank? I say report them to FSA for not noticing sooner. I mean, its the users fault for not noticing.

Back in 1992 there was a news story that IRS products had increased 10-fold in traded notional amount in a year and could lead to trouble. It was a bank of england report. However, a few months later a friend of mine at HSBC was summoned by his boss and told he had generated all the extra increase by a coding mistake. He kept his job but realized he had no career and had to move. to UBS.

[bogeyman]

Surely all software is sold with a contract stipulating the 'fitness for purpose' clause. i.e. you do not claim that the software is fit for any purpose at all, and the end-user accepts that, and renders you harmeless from any legal action, simply by using the product.

If you didn't do that, then on your own head be it.

[PRC1964]

I take it "they" have insurance? If not I'd seriously consider getting a lot and quickly.

Option 5 sounds tempting, but if it were ever discovered you'd be spending a long time inside.

I'd probably go for option 2 and work out a way to sell them a new version that is correct to more digits than you currently claim.

[andy]

option 2 seems to be the safest