We aren't bad at software engineering. The Author does a good job of analyzing the situation. It highlights mostly what we care about is delivering a stream of value knowing that we can correct things when they go wrong. We care that it is mostly right. We 100% embrace the "soft" of software
Thing we struggle more with is "Must work correctly on first REAL use". So we now have the PITA world of other engineering disciplines where adapting is often not an option once "deployed", though even there those disciplines look for ways to get "soft".
Having spent a lot of my career doing Embedded Systems/Industrial Control Systems the approach to getting things correct is very different from developing web/backend/mobile software. Lots of rules are introduced, design approaches are limited to certain ways of doing things and many techniques are avoided. Functionality is carefully considered on how difficult it is to build correctly. Testing is more convoluted. Robustness and Performance are far more pressing concerns. But again, in this environment it is often desired to be more "soft" and various things are done to try and achieve that. It can be handled much like other engineering and often is managed as part of a multi disciplinary effort of mechanical/electronic/software engineering and treated as a "system"
Getting some mobile app developers to make something that is supposed to be "robust" on first deployment is mainly a problem in not recognizing what skills and experience are needed to be employed to get what you want.
I'm not sure I've ever seen anything engineered that is perfect, have you? what even is "perfect"? seems like an unrealistic standard and not the goal at all of any engineered system (civil, mechanical, electronic), I don't think that a good definition of "bad" is everything less than "perfect". I have seen software the fulfills the necessary criteria, especially in the world of control of machines, eg, engine control, industrial control systems, etc. Many things get built that work within their "engineering" criteria. I have one particular software application on a microcontroller that performs various functions and control, I've only ever deployed 1 version on thousands and thousands of devices, it has worked for a decade so far. It went through rigorous review and testing before being released.
if you don't change the inputs or any other variables, it is different from a program deployed in the wild... but yeah not very many things are perfect (even the sun will die one day).
It is deployed in the wild. But what you are describing is essentially engineering, being in control of your variables is key. Engineering is all about understanding what the variables are, what tolerances you need and building to those criteria. Pretty much anything engineered is on wobbly ground when it gets inputs/conditions unanticipated. Part of that is being clever about when things are in uncontrolled environments to find a way to sandbox things into a controlled environment. Much like the software world, a simple thing is put it in a "container"/box/case and limit the "input" to the underlying system.
Thing we struggle more with is "Must work correctly on first REAL use". So we now have the PITA world of other engineering disciplines where adapting is often not an option once "deployed", though even there those disciplines look for ways to get "soft".
Having spent a lot of my career doing Embedded Systems/Industrial Control Systems the approach to getting things correct is very different from developing web/backend/mobile software. Lots of rules are introduced, design approaches are limited to certain ways of doing things and many techniques are avoided. Functionality is carefully considered on how difficult it is to build correctly. Testing is more convoluted. Robustness and Performance are far more pressing concerns. But again, in this environment it is often desired to be more "soft" and various things are done to try and achieve that. It can be handled much like other engineering and often is managed as part of a multi disciplinary effort of mechanical/electronic/software engineering and treated as a "system"
Getting some mobile app developers to make something that is supposed to be "robust" on first deployment is mainly a problem in not recognizing what skills and experience are needed to be employed to get what you want.