Software Projects Gone Awry

[SezMe]

The NY Times ran an article today (Jan 22) about major software projects that have failed here (registration required). It started by citing a terrorist indentification system initiated by the FBI that they gave up on after spending $170 million. After citing other examples the OpEd piece states, "Software hell is a very crowded place."

Other snippets include:

In 1994, researchers found, only 16 percent were completed on time, on budget and fulfilling the original specifications. Nearly a third were canceled outright, and the remainder fell short of their objectives.

It may well turn out that the F.B.I.'s biggest problem was its desire to be innovative - to build a new wheel rather than use an old one within easy reach. When it comes to developing software today, innovation should be a last resort, not a first instinct.

These quotes may seem disjoint, but I don't want to violate the spirit of the forum rules. If you are interested and don't want to register, PM me and I'll forward it to you.

 

[a_unique_person]

Just like my last job, where the boss severely underestimated the time it would take to implement a product, and went broke, owing me a significant amount of money. His wife was inclinded to blame me for the being part of the problem and being incompetent, but it took him a further six months to finish off what he thought would initially take about a month to do.

I remember saying when I was up there working on the job "The expert is the guy who says it will take the longest and cost the most".

 

[bigred]

Given all this, you'd think a business analyst could find more openings.....