Where did software quality go?

Good point! I see good development practices like good dental care or good conversational skills, something you constantly work at. I know I need to consciously improve my technique and follow best practices. New developers need to learn the same lessons most experienced developers know, that balancing speed with quality is tricky.

I've seen quite a few examples from both sides of the coin, though when it's going bad there are some very common themes that keep coming up.

I don't think it will ever be achieved industry wide, that would be akin to all cars being BMWs. But for those people who want to build quality things, there are tried and tested ways of doing it.