Time Magazine has just published an article titled "Are Face-Detection Cameras Racist?"  which is pretty interesting. The article centers on face detection technology which is turning up everywhere in the current hardware market, from digital cameras to computer security, and problems with the technology dealing with different racial groups. I am certain that there is no shortage of opinions as to why this occurred, but I have my own to share here.

 

After reading the article, I have to admit that it's nice to see a technology story that gets to the heart of the issue; that adequate testing was probably not conducted on this feature before moving it to market. Testing for this feature was probably relegated to the end of the production cycle, so it took the hit when time or resources became an issue.  Since this is a hot, new feature, there is the inevitable urge to get the technology into the product and to get it into the hands of the consumer ahead of the competition. That is a pretty basic idea and there is always a certain amount of risk present in that situation, but at this point in history, when the internet makes it possible to register consumer disgust on a global scale in minutes, it may be worthwhile for a company to reevaluate how to mitigate that risk. 

 

One way to correct this is with a well-planned and dynamic testing effort that is started well ahead of the completion of the feature, shortly after (or possibly during) the initial planning phase. Moving away from the Waterfall Model may still be difficult or hard to grasp for some companies, but if you are looking for solid evidence that indicates why this model is flawed, look no further. Moving the testing phase further up in the development cycle (in addition to making it an iterative, traceable process) enables defects to be located earlier in the development lifecycle and rectified at a smaller cost. Organizations that choose to do so may be able to improve overall quality, cut costs, and save face…no matter what racial makeup that face may consist of.