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The Project On Diverse Software (PODS) was a collaborative software reliability research project whose main objectives were:• To evaluate the merits of using diverse (or n-version) software.• To evaluate the computer-based specification language "X".• To compare the effects of representative high-level and low-level languages on productivity and reliability.In addition, there was a secondary objective to monitor the software development process, with particular reference to the creation and detection of software faults. To achieve these objectives, an experiment was mounted which simulated a normal software development process to produce three diverse programs to the same requirement. The requirement was for a reactor. over-power protection (trip) system. Diversity was ensured by having three independent teams to produce the software, using different specification methods (formal and informal) and different implementation languages (assembly language and Fortran). This also allowed the comparison of specification methods and programming languages to be made. After careful independent development and testing, the three programs were tested against each other in a special test harness to locate residual faults. All phases of the project were carefully documented for subsequent analysis.The major conclusions for this particular project were that: • Diverse software with majority voting failed less frequently than any individual program, but some common faults did exist at the end of normal software development.• Testing diverse programs "back-to-back" proved to be a powerful method of detecting residual faults.• The residual faults were all related to the specification of requirements, and hence, the requirement specification was the only known cause of common mode failure.

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PurposeIn line with an emerging critical trend in the field of intellectual capital (IC), the aim of this paper is to probe the evolutionary path of IC research and practices. The paper aims to argue that IC research and practices need to shift from the measuring paradigm to a learning paradigm.Design/methodology/approachA total of 15 interviews with experienced IC consultants were conducted while they were all working on a European Commission funded IC project across five European countries from 2005 to 2008. Altogether their voices constitute a critical line of thought.FindingsThe findings showed that a learning paradigm does not take a stand against the measuring paradigm, however it does transform the measuring paradigm, as it takes it to a new level of understanding by engaging a firm's attention to the socio‐psychological mechanism that generates and sustains IC flows. IC flows entail new knowledge flows, practice flows, and affect flows that elicit organizational change and innovation.Practical implicationsThe paper discusses two implications of this research. First, effective IC flow management may strengthen a firm's future earning potential by allowing for value‐added activities and by nurturing a strong learning motive. Second, three criteria for IC information disclosure are proposed to work around the issue of management control and/or public relations manipulation. The paper suggests that the design and implementation of IC models within a reporting framework should aim to make the concept of IC more accessible, actionable, and effective.Originality/valueThis paper offers a novel conceptual framework and an operational context which explore the possible ways of advancing IC research and practices.