With an estimated £12.4 billion spent in the UK on software last
year, and a projected total spend of £22.6 billion on IT in
general, yesterday's report from the Royal Academy of Engineering
and the British Computer Society expresses concern over the large
number of project failures.
According to Basil Butler, Chairman of the working group behind
the report, "We looked at a range of studies showing that only
around 16% of IT projects can be considered truly successful." Even
conservative estimates put the cost of such failures at tens of
billions of pounds across the EU.
There is clearly a major software engineering challenge in
dealing with the inexorable rise in capability of computing and
communications technologies, but the Academy and the BCS are
concerned that our universities are not producing people with
adequate skills.
The report recommends that all senior IT practitioners designing
and delivering high-consequence systems should be either Chartered
IT Professionals – a new qualification being launched by the BCS –
or Chartered Engineers.
"It is time for the IT industry to recognise the engineering
content of their work and to embrace the discipline and
professionalism associated with traditional branches of
engineering," said Professor John McDermid, Professor of Software
Engineering at the University of York and a member of the working
group.
"In fact," he added, "there is a powerful argument that
registration should be mandatory for people working on
high-consequence systems like safety-critical or banking software.
We think the Office of Government Commerce should consider
this."
One of the problems with cutting-edge software is that it is
often hard to visualise what the system will do.
"I wouldn't ask an engineer to build a 1,000 metre long concrete
beam suspended at one end because I know it can't be done – I have
a physical perspective on it," one respondent told the working
group. "With software it's never like that. We don't have any
underlying feel for whether something is even feasible."
The report warns that it is a cardinal mistake to select
suppliers for a complex IT project on the basis of price alone,
since it is very difficult for suppliers to accurately predict
costs at the outset. If a customer is asking for something
unrealistic or ultra-high risk, the supplier should tell the
customer
"Projects are often poorly defined, codes of practice are
frequently ignored and there is a woeful inability to learn from
past experience," says Professor McDermid. "The role of systems
architects is critical – their job is to translate a business
vision into a technical blueprint. They often hold the keys to
success in complex IT projects but they are in very short supply.
The UK could benefit enormously from exploring ways to identify and
support people with these unique skills."
"It needs to recognise that IT and software projects have many
of the characteristics of traditional engineering programmes," says
Mr Butler. "Many software and IT projects could benefit from
employing the disciplines applied on other major projects."
Rob McCallough, the senior partner in the IT practice of Masons,
the law firm behind OUT-LAW.COM, commented:
"Having handled many of the disputes which have arisen from failed
software engineering projects, especially in the Public Sector, I
endorse everything that has been said in this report. I would add
that there is a need to recognise the importance of proper project
management to ensure that adequate training is given to project
managers who face huge challenges on complex IT projects involving
systems integration."
