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:

    1
    The software cost too much to implement
    2
    The software took too long to implement
    3
    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 expertise 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 as software failure experts 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.

    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.

    Our Software Project Management Experience

    Our software and IT project management experts have years of experience serving as project managers in areas such as business and technology integration, litigation support, and large-scale implementations of enterprise-wide solutions. Our experts are well versed in software development lifecycle methodologies such as Agile and Scrum, and hold certifications including Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certificate Associate in Project Management (CAPM). DisputeSoft experts leverage their extensive project management experience to draft expert reports and provide testimony rooted in industry standards and best practices.

    Experts on Software Project Failure

    Lubomyr Chabursky

    Senior Director

    Lubomyr Chabursky is a Director in DisputeSoft's IT Project Failure practice. Lubomyr h…

    Anne Ackerman

    Director, Operations

    Anne Ackerman has extensive experience in investigating software failure matters, inclu…

    Need assistance with Software Project Failure?

    If you are an attorney in need of a software project failure expert, we invite you to contact DisputeSoft.