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Software can be “okay” without being excellent if it meets enough of its intended needs and its remaining shortcomings are acceptable to the people affected. But that judgment depends on context: a slow screen is not equivalent to a defect that puts people, data, or essential operations at risk.
What does “okay” software actually mean?
“Bad” and “okay” are not objective labels based only on how many bugs a product has. ISO/IEC 25010 defines software quality as the “degree to which a software product satisfies stated and implied needs when used under specified conditions.” That makes quality a question of fit: what users need to do, the conditions in which they use the product, and the consequences when it falls short.
Quality also extends beyond whether a feature works. The ISO/IEC 25010 quality-in-use model considers whether people achieve their goals effectively and efficiently, whether they are satisfied, whether risks are controlled, and whether the product works across the contexts in which it is meant to be used. A product can perform its core task yet still frustrate users, exclude some of them, or create unacceptable risks. ISO/IEC 25010
Why do flawed products get accepted or released?
People may not agree on what “good” means
When requirements are vague, different stakeholders can imagine different outcomes. A team may deliver software that meets its interpretation while users expect something else, leading to disappointment and rework. ISO/IEC 25030:2019 addresses quality requirements and warns, in effect, that ambiguity can produce inconsistent interpretations. Clear, testable expectations make it easier to recognize what is acceptable before release. ISO/IEC 25030:2019
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Delivery involves tradeoffs
Engineering decisions often balance quality against cost and schedule. The IEEE/ACM Software Engineering Code of Ethics says to “Strive for high quality, acceptable cost and a reasonable schedule,” and to ensure significant tradeoffs are clear to and accepted by the employer and client, and available for consideration by users and the public. This is professional guidance, not proof that every organization follows it. It does show why an honest acceptance decision should make important compromises visible rather than treating them as an engineering detail. IEEE/ACM Software Engineering Code of Ethics
Some shortcomings are tolerable; others are not
An awkward workflow may be tolerable if users can still complete their work and the burden is understood. A weakness that exposes sensitive information, creates safety hazards, or threatens a critical service demands a different response. The relevant question is not simply whether a defect exists, but who bears its effects and how serious those effects are. ISO/IEC 25010 explicitly includes freedom from risk among the quality-in-use considerations.
When is accepting a flaw reasonable?
Acceptance is defensible when the remaining limitations are understood, proportionate to the benefits and constraints, and do not impose hidden or unacceptable harm. It is less defensible when users are unaware of a material tradeoff or when the people who decide to accept a flaw are not the people who bear its consequences.
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- Assess the impact: Consider time lost, failure likelihood, recovery difficulty, and economic, safety, security, or environmental consequences.
- Check who is affected: A product that works for one group or setting may fail in another. Include accessibility and the range of intended contexts in the assessment.
- Make the compromise explicit: State what is being deferred or accepted, why, and who has authority to accept the resulting risk.
- Revisit the decision: A compromise that fits a temporary constraint may become costly as usage, dependencies, or risk changes.
There is no universal quality score that turns these factors into a single pass-or-fail answer. A useful comparison considers task success and usability, reliability and failure impact, security or safety exposure, accessibility and context coverage, maintainability, and total cost of ownership. Which dimensions matter most depends on the software’s purpose and users.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How technical debt makes a compromise costly
A shortcut can defer corrective work rather than eliminate it. CISQ describes a method for estimating the effort needed to remedy specified classes of structural weaknesses in software. ISO/IEC 5055:2021 likewise addresses code-level violations that can contribute to operational risk or excessive costs. Together, these sources support a practical understanding of technical debt: some weaknesses create future correction work and inefficiency, but not every compromise is technical debt, and not every weakness has the same cost. CISQ Technical Debt Standard; ISO/IEC 5055:2021
RFC 9225 is titled “Software Defects Considered Harmful.” It is an informational RFC, not an Internet Standards Track specification, so it is best read as an attributed position and recommendation rather than a binding rule. RFC 9225
Quick Recap
What to ask before calling software “good enough”
- What needs must it meet? Write down the essential user goals and the conditions in which the product must work.
- What fails, and for whom? Separate inconvenience from failures that block work or create serious risk.
- What is the cost of the tradeoff? Account for both immediate effects and the effort required to maintain or correct the software later.
- Who has accepted the compromise? Make significant tradeoffs understandable to stakeholders and visible to people who may be affected.
- What would change the decision? Define the conditions—such as a rise in failure impact or a change in context—that would make the shortcoming unacceptable.
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