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I'm looking to find clients who are willing to pay a premium above usual contractor rates, for software that is developed with advanced tools and techniques to eliminate certain classes of bugs. However, I have little experience of contracting, and relatively few contacts.

It's important to state that the kind of tools and techniques I'm thinking of (e.g. formal verification) are used commercially extremely rarely, as far as I'm aware. There is kind of a continuum of approaches to higher reliability, with basic testing and basic static typing at one end and full-blown formal verification at the other, but the methods I'm thinking of are towards the latter end of the spectrum.

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Do you have much experience with formal verification? – Rein Henrichs Apr 16 '11 at 8:14
Yes, but in an academic environment, not in a commercial environment. – Robin Green Apr 16 '11 at 8:36
Green: One project I can think of which may be similar is Resolve/C++. Here is some more documentation: cse.ohio-state.edu/sce/rcpp/FAQ/index.html Although this is a project which spends most time in the classroom, the RSRG Group from Ohio State has documentation on real world implementations. – Chris Apr 16 '11 at 13:39
contact guys in space industry, they might be interested in stuff like formal verification – gnat Jun 22 '12 at 11:30
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Voted to close: Off-topic. This is about business/sales, not programming. – Dan Ray Jun 22 '12 at 13:05

closed as off topic by gnat, Walter, Dan Ray, Steven A. Lowe, Jarrod Roberson Jun 22 '12 at 23:09

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2 Answers

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Your basic problem is "This is very expensive" and you need to show that you your methodology are worth the additional price.

The easiest way to do so, is to have a portfolio of actual business cases where your approach turned out to be cheaper in the long run. Do you have anything like that?

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that's a low blow! The usualy problem with "experience", how is he supposed to get experience/portfolio if everyone is waiting for him to get some before considering him :) – Matthieu M. Apr 16 '11 at 15:25
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@matthieu, the things to show does not need to be his own. – user1249 Apr 16 '11 at 15:59
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Probably the most reliable software every created flies the space shuttle. I suggest you dig into space, military, and medical equipment industries in your country of citizenship. The first two will need a security clearance. If you are not North Korean, Kim Jong-il will not hire you.

They all three have a common factor: reliability is a life-or-death issue. Nobody dies if the accounting system is down for an hour, but somebody will die if the heart/lung machine goes down for an hour.

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The software that flies the space shuttle was not created using formal verification techniques. – Rein Henrichs Apr 16 '11 at 8:28
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I don't know space shuttle software, but given its constraints, I bet that software on Voyager, Pioneer or all Mars exploration spacecrafts are more reliable, because ways to fix bug on them are far more difficult than on space shuttle which returns to ground within few weeks. Anyway space, aeronautics and medical domains are very good starting points. – mouviciel Apr 16 '11 at 14:35
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@mouvicliel Wait, you mean the software where a small, easily detectable bug caused the probe's booster to veer hopelessly off course, wasting millions of dollars, in what is widely considered one of the worst software bugs of all time? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_1#An_Infamous_Bug – Rein Henrichs Apr 16 '11 at 18:14
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Here's an article written 15 years ago about the people that developed and maintained the space shuttle software: fastcompany.com/magazine/06/writestuff.html – tcrosley Apr 16 '11 at 18:55
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@Rein Henrichs, Space industry is paved with spectacular software failures, Ariane 501 is another example. This only means that fault-free software is an utopy, no matter how much money has been spent to avoid/remove/tolerate bugs. And space organizations are very generous on that subject. – mouviciel Apr 16 '11 at 19:15
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