A case study of system integrity for alcohol taxation

The lessons learned from the experience of designing and implementing a high-integrity, high-security and high-reliability computer-based data collection and monitoring system are discussed. The project involved the collection and monitoring of data by computer in a plant that produced wine, and the use of the computer to calculate the amount of tax to be paid by the producer of the wine. Large sums of money are involved in these transactions and both the company and the government tax collection office had to be convinced of the validity of the computer-generated figures. The lessons to be applied to future projects are simplicity in the hardware, layered security in the software, and the recognition that the time spent in explaining and justifying design concepts and design details is as valuable as time spent in actual design.<>