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."