Common Factors behind Software Failure

In today’s digital environment, software has become core of all business activities, where it is redefining common human life, and changing business patterns globally. Meanwhile, development of software has become more complex, challenging and confusing because demands to specialized custom made software are rising but supply hasn’t been effective and high quality.

According to a survey, more than 40 percent of software aren’t able to offer complete satisfaction to users. Hence, pessimism prevails over IT industry as many of them aren’t able to rectify basic problems prevalent in their development system. Most often, problems occurs in post-implementation and deployment of software, which overturns into a failure eventually. But how could software which is made with such a high expertise and wisdom comes to a dead end?

Common factors behind such a failure are lack of participation of actual stakeholders i.e. users, undermining testing services, and understatement of business orientation and strategy.

Lack of Participation of Actual Stakeholders
Users are the main stakeholders in post-implementation and deployment of the software technology, but indiscreetly users have been ignored in this process. We have abundance of instances available where users were ignored deliberately or unconsciously in software development process, and when the time came of post-implementation, same users reported confusion, difficulty of use, undesirable features, unworthiness of software, and lack of appeal.

IT companies knows that identifying organizational problems, business needs and management structure at client’s end is imperative, and beside that active engagement of stakeholders in development process enables software to bridge lacunae in business process for meeting company’s goals. However, most of the time software development companies lose their focus from client-centric development to developer-centric software development, here software becomes devoid of overall relevance. This is due to recklessness and unfriendly customer environment at software development companies’ development department.

Despite such a prevailing situation, there are progressive IT companies around the world, which have excellent client engagement structures and systems at place, where actual stakeholders are identified at client’s side and those are encouraged to involve in software development process.

Undermining Testing
Cyber attack activities in recent time have increased manifolds, we have instances of Citibank, Sony, Twitter etc. where system were sabotaged irreversibly, and affected users’ private data and information. Expert opinion on these cyber attacks is that these attacks can be prevented effectively with the help of robust testing. According to them, hackers usually take advantage of glaring loopholes and bugs in the system that can be mitigated easily with the help of robust testing. Often, customer forces the software development company to reduce price, which results in compromise with testing. This revelation is an eye opener but still many haven’t changed their stance and are adamant.

Understatement of Business Orientation and Strategy
A race has erupted among software development companies to grab as much opportunity as they can though they aren’t capable to fulfil all, and most importantly they don’t have time to complete all current projects. In this proposition, developers are only focused on developing software for the sake of it. Developers aren’t aware of business strategy of client and don’t much care about business orientation of the software. This directly impacts software’s output and affects client’s business.