Top 5 Software Testing Blunders of 2010

The passing of each New Year is always a good time to reflect on the past Rosetta Stone Languages as well as look forward to the future. It is in this spirit that I now present to you a list of 5 of the biggest software testing related blunders of 2010 (in no particular order). After you peruse this list it will be easy to see why an effective and efficient software testing process that follows ISTQB and ISEB best practices is critical!THE TOYOTA RECALLFirst on the list is the Toyota recall, which happened because of a glitch in the anti-lock braking systems of about 400,000 vehicles. Anti-lock brakes are based on embedded software, and the recall is an example of incomplete software testing. Unfortunately for Toyota, no remote software update process was possible so the vehicles already sold had to be recalled.SORRY, WRONG ORGANThe second blunder happened in the UK, where organs were erroneously removed from 25 people! The reason was faulty computer software, which resulted in the uploading of incorrect data on the donation preferences of approximately 800,000 people on the organ donor list. Yikes.WE DIDN'T WANT YOUR TAX MONEY ANYWAYYou have to love this one! Several hundred tax payers could not submit their tax returns online because a software glitch blocked their accounts. For an entity that so desperately needs tax revenue thanks to an inability to manage budgets, this Rosetta Stone Spanish was a pretty huge gaffe.STOCK MARKET BLUNDERMany people most likely had to change their underwear when the stock market went bonkers earlier this year. Thanks to a lack of effective software testing, an attempted data migration to a new software platform went completely awry and negatively impacted the technological nuts and bolts of the NYSE for several hours. I wonder how many heart attacks occurred because of this blunder.Y2K: 10 YEARS LATERA broken microchip application resulted in bank cards becoming temporarily unreadable for nearly 30 million cardholders in Germany. Because of a glitch, the banks software did not adequately handle the date change from December 31, 2009 to January 1, 2010. The total chaos that ensued is all you need to know about the necessity of proper software testing.SUMMARYThe unfortunate reality is that the 5 blunders I highlighted above only represent a partial list, as many other gaffes occurred in 2010 that did not make the cut. For example, at least 10,000 GPS receivers went down for over 2 weeks after a failed software upgrade, there was a mobile phone handset bug that granted unauthorized access to thousands of voicemails and messages, and there was an issue on a major social networking site that exposed the personal Rosetta Stone Italian information of millions of users.As you can clearly see, an inadequate software testing effort can cost companies millions of dollars in losses and also hurt their reputations, so it is important to always strive for a best-in-class software testing function. As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

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