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Billions of pounds are wasted every year on new IT systems, according to a report published today, by the Royal Academy of Engineering and the British Computer Society (BCS). Despite many examples of good practice in IT, there is still a lack of professionalism in software engineering that could even be dangerous in safety-critical systems. The report further showed Britain is failing to produce software engineers and managers with the necessary IT and management skills to commission and execute complex information technology projects. "The UK public sector alone has spent an estimated £12.4 billion on software in the last year and the overall UK spend on IT is projected to be a monumental £22.6 billion," says Basil Butler, chairman of the working group behind the report. "We looked at a range of studies showing that only around 16 per cent 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. Professor John McDermid, Professor of Software Engineering at the University of York and also a member of the working group, added: "I wonder if the Government has assessed the risks of its latest proposal to merge the IT systems of the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise?" A huge task awaits software engineers to try and deal with the relentless rise in the capability of computing and communication technology. The Academy and the BCS are concerned that our Universities are not producing people with adequate skills. Today's report recommends that all senior IT practitioners designing and delivering high-consequence systems should be chartered IT professionals - a new qualification yet to be launched by the BCS - or chartered engineers. Professor McDermid enforced: "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. "In fact, there is a powerful argument that registration should be mandatory for people working on high-consequence systems like safety-critical or banking software.” He continued to say the Office of Government Commerce should consider these measures. One of the problems with cutting-edge software is the difficulty in clearly visualizing exactly 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." Many enforce it is a mistake to select suppliers for a complex IT project on the basis of price alone - since it is difficult for suppliers to accurately pin-point costs at the outset. If a customer is asking for something unrealistic or ultra-high risk, the supplier should tell the customer and encourage them to review the project. "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 for system 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." Solutions to bridge the shortfall in skills were also put forward by the chairman. "It needs to recognised that IT and software projects have many of the characteristics of traditional engineering programmes," he said. "Many software and IT projects could benefit from employing the disciplines applied on other major projects." President of the BCS, Professor Wendy Hall, concluded: "The BCS firmly believes that increasing professionalism is key to improving success rates on projects - it is fitting that this report should be issued at the same time as the BCS is launching its Chartered IT Practitioner scheme." Apr 22, 2004 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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