Dilbert cartoon first published on Thursday 3rd February 2011

Dilbert//7964, first published fifteen years ago on Thursday 3rd February 2011

Tags

budget for a poor job build software business ethics cheap or smart executives poor job return on investment selling upogardes

Official transcript

Dilbert says, "If we build our software with no bugs, we can make a 10% return on our investment."

Dilbert says, "But if we do a poor job, we can make a 40% return by selling upgrades and service."

Dilbert says, "But don't worry. We only have the budget for a poor job."

CEO says, "I can't remember if we're cheap or smart."

Boss says, "Phew!"

originally published on dilbert.com

Open source transcript

IF WE BUILD OUR SOFTWARE WITH NO BUGS, WE CAN MAKE A 10% RETURN ON OUR INVESTMENT.

10% BUT IF WE DO A POOR JOB, WE CAN MAKE A 40% RETURN BY SELLING UPGRADES AND SERVICE.

BUT DON'T WORRY. WE ONLY HAVE THE BUDGET FOR A POOR JOB.

I CAN'T REMEMBER IF WE'RE CHEAP OR SMART.

PHEW!

collated from github.com/jvarn/dilbert-archive

AI Analysis

Title: "The ROI of Poor Jobs"

Summary:

This 'Dilbert' comic strip humorously highlights the paradoxical relationship between investment and return on investment (ROI) in the context of software development. The strip features a conversation between Dilbert and his boss, where Dilbert suggests that if they build software with no bugs, they can make a 10% return on their investment. However, if they do a poor job and sell upgrades and service, they can make a 40% return.

The conversation takes an unexpected turn when Dilbert's boss reveals that they only have a budget for a poor job. Dilbert is shocked and responds with a "PHEW!" indicating relief that they won't have to do a good job. The comic strip pokes fun at the common practice of prioritizing short-term gains over long-term quality, highlighting the absurdity of this approach in the software development industry.

generated by llama-3.2-11b-vision-instruct

Accompanying textual content, such as title, tags and transcripts, is shown here if we have it. Not every comic has all of these, and they seem to be a bit hit and miss even on the official website.