Should software really be soft?

There is a tendency to promote the soft features of software. However, successful software is a solution meeting specific requirements which need to be agreed before contract signature to ensure on-time, within budget delivery. The paper considers the issues that can arise if software is considered as the soft part of engineering projects. It is suggested that if on-time within-budget delivery of software is to be achieved then hard specification of software is needed, from initial marketing and bidding through project development to delivery and in-service support. The author´s experience suggests that there is frequently pressure in the marketing process to concede changes, without proper evaluation of the impact on project costs and time frame