---
id: "quote-code-vs-engineering"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ Tech Is About to Repeat the Mistake", "¶9"]
tags: ["software-engineering"]
related: ["claim-code-vs-engineering", "concept-judgment-debt"]
quote: "That is true. But producing code is not the same as engineering reliable systems."
speaker: "Chengwei Liu and Balázs Kovács"
speakers: ["Chengwei Liu", "Balázs Kovács"]
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-cl-84-big-tech-capability-crisis"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/big-techs-looming-capability-crisis"
sourceTitle: "Big Tech’s Looming Capability Crisis"
---
# Producing Code vs Engineering Systems

## Quote — Producing Code vs Engineering Systems

> "That is true. But producing code is not the same as engineering reliable systems."
> — [[entity-chengwei-liu|Chengwei Liu]] and [[entity-bal-zs-kov-cs|Balázs Kovács]] (§ Tech Is About to Repeat the Mistake, ¶9)

The one-line statement of [[claim-code-vs-engineering|the categorical error]] and the origin point of [[concept-judgment-debt|judgment debt]].