In this chapter we outline the role that software has in modern society, along with the staggering costs of poor software quality. To lay this bare, we recall the costs of some of the major software failures that happened during the last 40 years. We argue that these costs justify researching, studying and applying formal software verification and in particular program analysis. This position is supported by successful industrial experiences.

翻译：本章阐述了软件在现代社会中的角色，以及低质量软件所造成的惊人成本。为揭示这一问题，我们回顾了过去四十年间若干重大软件故障所造成的经济损失。我们认为，这些成本为研究、探索和应用形式化软件验证（特别是程序分析）提供了充分依据。这一观点得到了工业界成功实践的有力支持。