Robert N. Charette is a leading international risk analyst and systems expert. For more than two decades, he has studied the wrecks of software projects. With a career spanning 50 years, Charette has witnessed a troubling trend: the recurrence of costly mistakes among IT professionals, government officials, and corporate executives. Even with new technology and better awareness, he maintains that software failures continue to be surprisingly preventable and predictable.
Charette originally raised alarms about this issue in his 2005 article “Why Software Fails.” He discussed the three main reasons why software projects fail. Now, even two decades later, as he sees the same mistakes being made again, it’s a question he is still working to answer. “The greatest tragedy is that [software failure] is largely foreseeable and preventable,” Charette claims. Most organizations make the mistake of assuming there’s urgency tied to failing. Failure to consider this oversight can greatly injure or even kill them.
Charette’s analysis sheds light on the disturbing regularity of software malfunction. He draws a parallel with the ultimately intolerable—what if the power went out once every other day? Reliability is crucial in software systems, he reminds us, declaring that “Software is as important as electricity. We would never put up with rolling electricity blackouts every day. We wouldn’t stand for AWS, telcos, or banks going down so easily.
Charette’s frustrations are only multiplied by the time that has passed on numerous standout projects. He points out that Canada’s federal government Phoenix payroll system has yet to solve its issues. This is still true, even nine years after its first failed rollout. This repeat failure stands not only as an example of failed technologies, but as a painful illustration of the systemic issues plaguing software development.
In addition to advocating for physician innovativeness and pace, Charette calls attention to a swelling issue in the healthcare field. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recalls an average of 20 medical devices per month due to software problems. This outlines the critical need for stringent standards in software development, particularly when lives are at stake. Developing software with FDA-regulated medical devices involves a host of standards. There is a extreme sensitivity to what failure would mean.
His beliefs and wisdom have profoundly shaped our industry. Trusted outlets such as Spectrum IEEE have published his research. Charette, a former Special Projects Editor, is a perennial advocate for the need for reliable software. Fitzsimmons equally tackles the deadly impacts that often result from shortcomings in this space.
Charette’s bottom line is that organizations need to focus on preventing software failures. He’s seen up close how fanciful thinking by the people making these decisions fuels these cycles. Despite the trillions of dollars we’ve wasted on these failed projects, far too many still want to ignore what we’ve all learned from our experience.
