Seven Myths of Formal Methods


Taken from the paper by Anthony Hall, IEEE Software, Sept. 1990, p. 11-19.


  1. Formal methods (FM) can guarantee that software is perfect

  2. FM work by proving that programs are correct

  3. Only highly critical systems benefit from using FM

  4. FM involve complex mathematics

  5. FM increase the cost of development

  6. FM are incomprehensible to clients

  7. Nobody uses FM for real projects