New Tech Leading Disaster

CHENG-YU YU

Introduction: • Discuss the major reasons causing new tech disasters •Some research from web site

•Example from software Runaways (p.104)

•The real story in Taiwan

•Sharing Experience

Major Reasons Causing New Tech Failures

• They did not scale up. – Need to understand scope before starting project

• They are a solution to the Solution to wrong problem. – Because it is new technology, you may just try to solve it

• They do not have required functional capability. 1

– The new technology could not address one facet of problems

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Major Reason Cause New Tech Failure

(Cont’)• Less Experience for immature technologies

• Too Trusting of New technology with no backup plan or alternate

• • No time to test new technology projects

– Engineers do not have enough time to test new technology machines and software.

• Human factors – Ethical issues

• Project manager does not have expertise to mange the project • Human Nature: engineer does not follow manufacturer suggestion

to operate new system

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FoxMeyer Drug and SAP lawsuit • FoxMeyer wanted improved Sales system

– Uses SAP software because it is popular

• SAP software creates lots of incorrect orders – Whopping $15.5 millions in uncovered excess shipment – The system should cut down cost

• SAP software cannot handle vast number of daily orders – SAP R/3 software never used for a large amount of orders– Engineers never tested in advance – Project manager not familiar with software functions

• Software original design did not use manufactures wholesale system

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FoxMeyer Drug and SAP lawsuit (Cont’)

• SAP Contractors not willing to fix the problems– Tried to hide and minimize critical problems

• SAP software cannot keep accurate history of customer’s information– Time limited to release software

• Due to time pressure Programmers skip testing some functional parts

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Taiwan High Speed Rail Ticket system(THSRC) complaint (June 2007)• The Automatic system

cannot handle large orders in peak hours

• Over selling seats and double booking for some seats– A lot of vacant seats

on the train

• The system cannot make correct change

• Credit card system charges wrong amount

• Lack of experience in design of new ticket systems

• Software engineers did not have time to test system– Experts recommend at

least one year to test both Train system and ticket systems

– Government pushes them test system in only one month

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Because

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THSRC Ticket system (cont’)• THSRC just

launched New Online booking system (9/2007)

– Takes a lot time to purchase tickets and not practical

– When Customer make mistakes (i.e. date and seats), they try to go back to make changes but system shows “page time out “

– Waiting too much time for credit card authorization

• CEO did not want to purchase ticket systems from Japan

– Tried to save by not purchasing mature ticket systems from Japan

– Hired inexperienced contractors to design new ticket system

– Train system is from Japan but ticket system is local

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F.Y.I.

Time to Share Experiences • Please Share your Personal Experiences in your

Careers

• It is important for us to learn and improve through experience

• Thank you for listing my presentation

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Reference :

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• Software Runaway P102-112 • Taipei Time News

– (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/)

• The China Post Newspaper in Taiwan http://www.chinapost.com.tw/

• Engineering Disasters and Learning from Failure(http://www.matscieng.sunysb.edu/disaster/ )

• Photos from Google and my personal Camera