Soft real-time and software costs

Imagine designing an automobile with a motor that runs really well on a demonstration frame, with none of those heavy panels or safety devices, and only tested on a short flat track. Imagine an engineering team designing an automobile or truck deciding that since high torque is only needed rarely, they don’t have to worry about it. Imagine that team being surprised to find that as they add more to their prototype vehicle and start testing it on hills, it starts to fail more and more often. And imagine the management team who enthusiastically endorsed the use of a very low cost engine and similar tactics on project after project, complaining about the low margins and high cost of development in their industry where so many projects fail or need massive redesigns!