{"id":2681,"date":"2016-10-14T14:58:36","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T14:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gallop.net\/blog\/?p=1790"},"modified":"2024-07-15T13:54:39","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T08:24:39","slug":"software-failures-inadequate-software-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cigniti.com\/blog\/software-failures-inadequate-software-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"37 Epic Software Failures: The Crucial Need for Adequate Software Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"
Disaster is an understatement for any brand\/organization\/institution that has incurred losses due to an overtly minuscule but catastrophic software glitch. While technology and innovative applications have empowered brands, enterprises have recorded numerous disabling instances.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Software disasters have the potential to cause widespread disruptions and highlight the importance of rigorous testing and quality control measures in preventing catastrophic software failures.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Any application\u2019s unexpected crashes and data inconsistencies were a direct result of the <\/span>failure in software testing<\/span><\/a>, revealing significant gaps in the quality assurance process. In this run on top <\/span>software failures of 2016 -2015-2014, we take stock of the debacles\/glitches that have changed the face of software development and endorsed the role of testing<\/span><\/a> in the overall SDLC process.<\/span><\/p>\n Brands and enterprises across diverse industries <\/span>witnessed<\/span> software testing failures<\/span>, and here is a list of software glitches\/technical issues. Please note that the numbers 1-37 do not signify the high or <\/span>low impact<\/span> of the <\/span><\/span>software glitch<\/span><\/span><\/a> on the brand\/enterprise.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amongst the most recent <\/span><\/span>data breaches<\/span><\/span><\/a>, on September 22, 2016, Yahoo confirmed a data breach that exposed about 500 million credentials that date back to four years. It is considered among the <\/span>most significant<\/span> credential leaks of 2016. The company believes this was a state-sponsored breach, where an individual on behalf of a government executed the entire hack. It further urged users to change their passwords and security questions. As a relief for the users, Yahoo <\/span>stated<\/span> that sensitive financial data like bank accounts and passwords was not stolen as part of the breach<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n Source: Money.cnn.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A software update for the Nest \u2018smart\u2019 thermostat (owned by Google) went wrong and left users in the cold. The update forced the device\u2019s batteries to drain, leading to a temperature drop. Consequently, customers could not heat their homes or use any amenities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nest claimed that the fault was due to a December 4.0 firmware update, with related issues such as old air filters or incompatible boilers. Later, it released a 4.0.1 software update that solved the problem for 99.5% of affected customers.<\/span><\/p>\n Source: Cio-asia.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A software update for the Nest \u2018smart\u2019 thermostat (owned by Google) went wrong and left users in the cold. The update forced the device\u2019s batteries to drain, leading to a temperature drop. Consequently, customers could not heat their homes or use any amenities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nest claimed that the fault was due to a December 4.0 firmware update, with related issues such as old air filters or incompatible boilers. Later, it released a 4.0.1 software update that solved the problem for 99.5% of affected customers.<\/span><\/p>\n Source: Cio-asia.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A glitch in December 2015 led to over 3,200 US prisoners being released before their declared date. The software<\/span>, introduced in 2002, was designed to <\/span>monitor<\/span> prisoners\u2019 behavior<\/span>. The problem occurred for about 13 years; on average, prisoners were released almost <\/span>49 days<\/span> in advance.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Cio-asia.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In August 2015, HSBC <\/span>failed to<\/span> process about 275,000 individual payments, leaving many without pay before a long Bank Holiday weekend. This occurred due to a <\/span>significant<\/span> failure with the <\/span><\/span>bank\u2019s electronic payment<\/span><\/span><\/a> system for its business banking users, affecting individual payments. Bacs, a payment system used for payment processes across the UK, later <\/span>picked up on<\/span> this issue, labeling it as an \u2018isolated issue<\/span>.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Cio-asia.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In April 2016, Bloomberg\u2019s London office <\/span>experienced a software glitch, with its trading terminals down for two hours. This occurred<\/span> at an unfortunate time when the UK\u2019s Debt Management Office (DMO) was about to auction a series of short-term Treasury bills. Later, in a statement, Bloomberg declared that the services were restored, and the glitch resulted from hardware and software failures in the network, resulting in excessive network traffic.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Cio-asia.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n About 6 lakh payments<\/span>, including wages and benefits, <\/span>failed to<\/span> get through RBS’s accounts overnight in June 2015. The <\/span><\/span>bank\u2019s chief administrative officer stated it was a technology fault<\/span><\/span><\/a>, but there was no further detail on the real cause. In 2012, about 6.5 million RBS customers had to face an outage caused by a batch scheduling software glitch, and<\/span> the bank was fined \u00a356 million.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Cio-asia.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In May 2015, Airbus issued an alert <\/span>to urgently check<\/span> its A400M <\/span>aircraft<\/span> when a report detected a software bug that had caused a fatal crash earlier in Spain. Before this alert, a test flight in Seville caused the death of four Air Force crew members, and two were left injured.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Theguardian.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In March 2015, the UK government delayed the launch of a \u00a3154 million rural payments system<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span>The system is an online service for farmers to apply for Common Agricultural Policy payments from the EU. This online service, which was supposed to be up and running by May 2015, was delayed due to integration issues between the portal and the rules engine software. It was then not expected to be up even by 2016.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Computerworlduk.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In July 2015, Co-operative Food apologized to its customers and promised a refund within 24 hours. The reason was a \u2018one-off technical glitch\u2019 while processing the software that resulted in customers being charged twice.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Computerworlduk.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Retailers often face mispricing<\/span> due to system glitches, resulting in <\/span>outlets offering customers excessively lucrative offers. John Lewis is a recent example: The<\/span> online retailer <\/span>witnessed<\/span> a price glitch on its website that erroneously advertised hardware at software rates.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Money.aol.co.uk<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In March 2012, Apple iPads worth \u00a3650 were priced at \u00a349.99. After the glitch was <\/span>identified<\/span>, Tesco canceled the sale and did not respond to these orders, resulting in customer dissatisfaction.<\/span><\/p>\n Source: Mycustomer.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In January 2012, 50-inch 3D TVs worth \u00a31,099 went up on sale for a mere \u00a3199 on the Marks and Spencer website. Eventually, the company decided to sell the Plasma TV sets at a lower price after it faced a customer petition. The online petition called \u2018Marks & Spencer supply <\/span>the<\/span> TVs we paid for\u2019 compelled M&S to honor the orders.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Thisismoney.co.uk<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In November 2013, Sports retailer Reebok trainers worth \u00a3100 were picked up for free from the online site, where <\/span>customers were only charged for delivery. While the company did not honor the orders and apologized to the customers<\/span>, they refunded the delivery charges and additionally gave 20% off on their next order. The pricing glitch went viral on Facebook and other sport and price deal forums, where shoppers rushed to grab \u00a399.95 CrossFit Nano Speed footwear for just \u00a38.50 postage.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Source: Theguardian.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After investing two years of labor and <\/span>$1 Million, Rutherford Country of Tennessee, US, called off a court software system update. The core reason was that the software glitches were <\/span>identified<\/span> right when the deal took place, and problems related to the issuance of checks, errors on circuit court dockets, and the <\/span>creation of hidden charges came up in the weeks after it went Live.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Source: 99tests.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ola, India\u2019s largest taxi aggregator, faced major security flaws within <\/span>its system. The software bugs detected helped basic programmers enjoy unlimited free rides\u2014at the expense of Ola and users. The issue went public when customers <\/span>brought up<\/span> the weaknesses in the system. Ola tried to fix bugs when the complaints soared, which<\/span> was alarming for the brand\u2019s reputation in the marketplace.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Source: Economictimes.indiatimes.com<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In September 2016, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, one of Europe\u2019s largest teaching trusts, <\/span>witnessed<\/span> a pathology IT crash that delayed operations for almost 132 patients. Leeds Teaching <\/span>holds<\/span> a budget of \u00a31 billion and employs over 16,000 staff. It serves <\/span>780,000 people<\/span> in the city and provides expert <\/span><\/span>care for <\/span>5.4 million patients<\/span><\/span><\/a>. The outage further affected Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, GP services in Leeds, and a <\/span>minor<\/span> number of GP services in Bradford.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Now that\u2019s the impact!<\/p>\n Source: Digitalhealth.net<\/p>\n <\/p>\nTop Software Failures: Glitches and Debacles That Transformed Software Development<\/h2>\n
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Yahoo reports breach<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Nest thermostat freeze<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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HSBC\u2019s major IT outage<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Prison Break<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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HSBC payments glitch<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Bloomberg cancels debt issue<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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RBS payments failure<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Airbus software bug alert<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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UK government\u2019s new online farming payments system gets delayed<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Co-op Food\u2019s double charges<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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John Lewis<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Tesco iPad pricing disaster<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Marks & Spencer 3D TV glitch<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Reebok\u2019s free trainers<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Tennessee County kills System Update worth $1Million<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Software Security Flaws Revealed in OLA\u2019s Mobile App<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Leeds Pathology IT crash<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Cisco\u2019s Email Security Appliances glitch<\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n