Software Project Failure

Today, no business can compete without reliable information-technology systems.

The failure of a software project or system can cost millions of dollars in lost productivity and disrupt normal business operations, placing a company at a significant competitive disadvantage. Yet study after study tells us that a significant percentage of software projects end in failure.

The Root Causes of Software Project Failure

Software projects ending in dispute typically have three major customer complaints:

The software cost too much to implement

The software took too long to implement

The software doesn't work or won't support customer's business needs

Vendor and Customer Responsibilities

Software development contracts often bind the vendor to standards of care relating to the manner in which they implement software as well as the delivered software’s fitness of purpose. Similarly, the customer often has critical duties assigned by contract and industry standards. Software project failures can be traced to failures of either party in understanding and adhering to these duties.

How We Can Help

Determining the Causes of a Software Project Failure

DisputeSoft professionals are highly experienced and credentialed in the application of applicable industry standards, and have provided clients with critical investigation, analysis and opinions related to project management and software engineering failure issues. Whether the system failure dispute arises from alleged fraud, misrepresentation, negligence, or breach of contract or warranty, we provide the consulting services necessary to support or refute technical facts at issue in the case, and to arrive at the ultimate causes of a project’s demise. We have worked on more than 100 cases on behalf of both software vendors and their customers to provide detailed analyses of failed software projects and systems.

Featured Case

Waste Management v. SAP

DisputeSoft authored an expert report opining on allegations of fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of contract.

SEE THE CASE

We have worked on more than 100 cases on behalf of both software vendors and their customers to provide detailed analyses of failed software projects and systems.

Our Software Project Failure Services

We assist counsel in understanding the root causes of a software project failure. We do this by reviewing project documents, testing the software for adherence to promised functionality and technical specifications, analyzing delay claims, assessing defects, determining percent complete, assisting with document discovery (including document production requests and deposition preparation assistance), preparing affidavits and declarations to support motions, interviewing fact witnesses, and reaching independent supportable opinions. When serving as software project failure experts, we apply our IT-industry expertise, training, and real-world experience to perform applicable investigation and analyses, reach findings and opinions regarding liability, prepare expert reports, and defend our opinions and the basis for them in state and federal courts, as well as in arbitration and administrative proceedings. We are also able to assess the feasibility of corrective action plans for failed or failing software projects.

Our Techniques

Many software failure matters hinge on uncovering the root causes of failure. Some of the many techniques we use to assess the causes of a software project failure include:

tracing software functionality through to requirements traceability matrices (RTMs) or other technical specifications
assessing code quality using tools such as SonarQube
reviewing produced documents related to software engineering and project management
manually reviewing code to examine severe or especially important defects
assisting in the preservation of systems germane to a dispute
standing up systems using virtual machines
examining highly confidential systems or source code for a limited time while on-site
interviewing fact witnesses
assessing project delay and technical debt according to industry-standard project management formulas
measuring percent complete according to industry-standard software engineering formulas

Counsel may also request our assistance with drafting requests for production, preparing affidavits and declarations to support motions, or preparing for deposition.