As a reference, the ‘before’ shot. Clear damage near the fridge represented a ‘small’ matter to address.
In the programming world, the term ‘bug’ represents a malfunction within a program that is generally hidden and interferes with an expected outcome. Bugs can range from a minor miscalculation, to a large-scale technical glitch that may compromise the system. Typical of engineering, even its origin story is quite literal when Grace Hopper, a computer scientist, discovered a moth trapped within Harvard’s computer in 1947 which was throwing off results and puzzling colleagues. Common and potentially disastrous, bugs are an undeniable force which need to be managed under the watchful eye of a programmer. This story is about a different type of bug. A literal bug. The termite.
Apologies to the squeamish. Soon into the tearing out of flooring, termites in action discovered.
Like for most, this past month has provided an opportune time to address long-overdue tasks such as cleaning, organizing, and making updates to one’s living environment. Noel and his wife Sally (Owner and Head Investor) were addressing the latter with the exciting prospect of changing out the flooring across their home. Quickly into the project, minor termite damage was discovered. What began as minor, quickly escalated with each tile removed. Reader’s be warned, what you are about to see are the devastating effects of hidden bugs.
An example of the hidden carnage ravaged under the entrance to the kitchen.
No more white wall, and floor for that matter.
Further progress into tearing out revealed more damage. Note the white wall.
Last one for good measure.
Fortunately from a systems perspective, Ablesoft has avoided such painful surprises as Noel and Sally through effective ‘bug’ management. In using a software development tool called Microsoft DevOps, testers are easily able to identify bugs, developers exterminate them, and progress is then shared across the team. So Noel’s home may have been compromised by those pesky bugs, but his systems are not.
This story is not solely a warning of the damages hidden bugs can cause us – both virtual and real. With the large scale damage has come a push for Noel and Sally to rethink the layout of their home and incorporate new ideas. In additon, the decade long wood buffet for the termites could have ended in even larger infrastructure damage to the home if continued to go unnoticed. That said, their experience is one that would be wished on very few. With that, monitor the bug, respect the bug, and you just may avoid a hidden disaster.