the Software QA Test Resource Center has compiled a lengthy listing of “major computer system failures caused by software bugs” Here are several entries from that list:

1. A September 2006 news report indicated problems with software
   utilized in a state government’s primary election, resulting in
   periodic unexpected rebooting of voter check-in machines, which were
   separate from the electronic voting machines, and resulted in confusion
   and delays at voting sites. The problem was reportedly due to
   insufficient testing.
2. In August of 2006 a U.S. government student loan service
   erroneously made public the personal data of as many as 21,000
   borrowers on it’s web site, due to a software error. The bug was fixed
   and the government department subsequently offered to arrange for free
   credit monitoring services for those affected.
3. A software error reportedly resulted in over-billing of up to
   several thousand dollars to each of 11,000 customers of a major
   telecommunications company in June of 2006. It was reported that the
   software bug was fixed within days, but that correcting the billing
   errors would take much longer.
4. News reports in May of 2006 described a multi-million dollar
   lawsuit settlement paid by a healthcare software vendor to one of its
   customers. It was reported that the customer claimed there were
   problems with the software they had contracted for, including poor
   integration of software modules, and problems that resulted in missing
   or incorrect data used by medical personnel.
5. In early 2006 problems in a government’s financial monitoring
   software resulted in incorrect election candidate financial reports
   being made available to the public. The government’s election finance
   reporting web site had to be shut down until the software was repaired.
6. Trading on a major Asian stock exchange was brought to a halt in
   November of 2005, reportedly due to an error in a system software
   upgrade. The problem was rectified and trading resumed later the same
   day.
7. A May 2005 newspaper article reported that a major hybrid car
   manufacturer had to install a software fix on 20,000 vehicles due to
   problems with invalid engine warning lights and occasional stalling. In
   the article, an automotive software specialist indicated that the
   automobile industry spends $2 billion to $3 billion per year fixing
   software problems.
8. Media reports in January of 2005 detailed severe problems with a
   $170 million high-profile U.S. government IT systems project. Software
   testing was one of the five major problem areas according to a report
   of the commission reviewing the project. In March of 2005 it was
   decided to scrap the entire project.

While the list doesn’t have links or references out to original sources, it does look well-researched. Here’s a link to the entire list.

Update 10/2/07: I had taken this list from another website, which had incorporated it without attribution to the Software QA Test Resource Center.
The reference and links have now been updated to reflect the true
source of the list. My apologies to Rick Hower for the incorrect source
attribution in the original posting

Powered by ScribeFire.

myDots « 

Technorati Tags: health, free, web, news, software, personal, man

It’s time to define IT project success in clear, operational terms. Building on this post, here are four criteria for defining a successful IT project:

1. The finished software meets planned scope and specifications, with a reasonable level of quality
2. The project is completed more or less on time and within budget
3. The software solves the business problem for which it was intended
4. Users adopt the software according to plan

These criteria capture dimensions related to project management,
business fit, and usability. Notice that technology is not included as
a factor, since this definition assumes technology is the support
vehicle for delivering the all-important business benefits.

Please leave lots of comments with your opinions on this definition
of IT project success. I suspect this set of criteria will be
controversial, but we need a starting point.

Powered by ScribeFire.

myDots « 

Technorati Tags: business, software, technology, man