Utilitarianism can be a powerful philosophy in some situations. Without a fake contract, the experiments that led to Pong wouldn't have taken place [1].
Also, if you have been in the software industry long enough, you have probably been in a situation where you had to deliver buggy or incomplete software because your customer wanted it yesterday.
Personally, I'd rather let someone know the stuff they are getting is not as good as it should be (yet) than fail to meet a deadline and permanently damage our relationship.
This is of course heavily dependent on the problem domain. The failure of a seismometer and a hypercasual puzzle game have very different consequences.
Also, if you have been in the software industry long enough, you have probably been in a situation where you had to deliver buggy or incomplete software because your customer wanted it yesterday.
Personally, I'd rather let someone know the stuff they are getting is not as good as it should be (yet) than fail to meet a deadline and permanently damage our relationship.
This is of course heavily dependent on the problem domain. The failure of a seismometer and a hypercasual puzzle game have very different consequences.
[1] https://spectrum.ieee.org/pong