Who is to blame when software goes wrong?


Installing new software to bolster your organisation’s IT platform is a challenging process at the best of times, but never more so than when the system refuses to operate as expected. This is why it is important to ensure that you take the advice and services of a Cheltenham It Support such as  https://reformit.co.uk/ to help ensure there is minimal to no loss of service. Despite effective testing procedures and a great deal of planning, even the most reliable software can function incorrectly, or even not at all, risking operations and compromising revenue or productivity.

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It’s tempting to look to the software developers when new installs cause issues, yet more often than not, the fault of the failure can be found much closer to home. The following points of failure are more common than you may realise. By avoiding these, it’s possible to increase the chances of your new software bedding in and functioning fully as intended.

Release Management Failures

Release management is an integral element of any software launch. Ensure sufficient research into the various releases for the software version being deployed, to identify any issues which other users have encountered when migrating to the new platform. Build in contingency time within the launch to provide ample opportunity for addressing known conflicts in version releases, and manage the migration effectively.

Ineffective Testing

It’s common sense that new software requires a significant amount of testing prior to putting it into the live environment. Effective testing can be undertaken in-house, or outsourced to a reliable software testing service. These groupscan help to maximise the chance of successful migration into live functionality. Project management to ensure sufficient scope for both sufficient testing and managing any glitches provide the organisation with enough time to address issues, without being placed under pressure by tight deadlines or impatient users.

Risk Analysis Deficits

Often, the push to be an early adopter of new software and systems can lead IT departments to sacrifice due diligence in the risk analysis phase. A collaborative, whole-system approach to risk identification and subsequent mitigation can provide sufficient evidence and contingency to address potential issues, building an effective project plan to address known conflicts.

Poor Approaches to Software Implementation

All organisations are at risk of compromise due to both individual influence, and group mindsets. For example, pressure from senior management to achieve launch by a set (unreasonable) deadline can hamper the effective testing and research phases, leading to a launch which is peppered with errors and challenges.

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