| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to Nest's Protect smoke alarm happened again within the same organization. The incident involved the Nest Wave feature causing the smoke alarm to be accidentally deactivated, leading to the product being pulled from sale in April. Nest advised users to install a software update to disable the Nest Wave feature to address the issue. Despite initial reports suggesting a full recall, Nest clarified that no further recall was planned, and they would be bringing the Nest Protect back on the market after the software update [26594].
(b) There is no information in the provided article indicating that a similar software failure incident has happened at other organizations or with their products and services. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design |
(a) The software failure incident in the Nest Protect smoke alarm system was related to the design phase. The issue stemmed from the "Nest Wave" feature, which could accidentally deactivate the alarm, preventing it from sounding in case of a fire. Nest advised users to install a software update that disabled this feature, indicating that the problem was introduced during the system development or updates [26594].
(b) The software failure incident was not directly linked to the operation or misuse of the system but rather to a design flaw in the Nest Protect smoke alarm system. The article does not mention any operational issues or misuse contributing to the failure [26594]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) The software failure incident related to Nest's Protect smoke alarm was primarily within the system. The issue stemmed from a feature called "Nest Wave" within the software of the smoke alarm. Users were advised to install a software update that specifically deactivated this feature to address the bug that could accidentally deactivate the alarm, potentially endangering users in the event of a fire [26594]. The solution to the problem was entirely software-based, indicating that the failure originated from within the system itself. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the Nest Protect smoke alarm was due to a non-human action, specifically a bug related to the "Nest Wave" feature. This feature could accidentally deactivate the alarm, leading to it not sounding in the event of a fire. Nest advised users to install a software update to disable this feature, resolving the issue [26594].
(b) Human actions were involved in the resolution of the software failure incident. Nest advised users to install a software update to deactivate the problematic "Nest Wave" feature, which was introduced by human design. Additionally, consumers were instructed to connect their Nest Protect devices to their wireless network and link them to a Nest account to receive the update, highlighting the role of human actions in addressing the issue [26594]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident in the Nest Protect smoke alarm was due to a hardware issue. The article mentions that the alarm could be accidentally deactivated, which would prevent it from sounding in the event of a fire. This issue was related to the "Nest Wave" feature, which was a hardware-related problem [26594].
(b) The software failure incident was also related to software issues. Nest advised users to install a software update that would deactivate the "Nest Wave" feature, which was the cause of the bug. The software update was necessary to address the software-related problem in the Nest Protect smoke alarm [26594]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident related to Nest Protect smoke alarm was non-malicious. The failure was due to a bug in the "Nest Wave" feature that could accidentally deactivate the alarm, preventing it from sounding in the event of a fire. Nest advised users to install a software update to disable this feature, ensuring the safety of the smoke alarm [26594]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
accidental_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Nest Protect smoke alarm was not due to poor decisions but rather an accidental decision. The incident occurred because the "Nest Wave" feature could be accidentally deactivated, leading to the alarm not sounding in the event of a fire [26594]. The decision to deactivate the feature through a software update was a response to this unintended consequence, indicating that it was not a deliberate poor decision but a reaction to a discovered flaw in the system. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is not explicitly mentioned in the provided article [26594].
(b) The software failure incident related to an accidental factor is highlighted in the article. The Nest Protect smoke alarm was pulled from sale in April due to reports that it could be accidentally deactivated, leading to a situation where it would not sound in the event of a fire. This accidental deactivation was caused by the "Nest Wave" feature, which was identified as the bug in the software. Nest advised users to install a software update to disable this feature and ensure the safe use of the smoke alarm [26594]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident related to Nest's Protect smoke alarm was temporary. The incident was caused by a bug in the "Nest Wave" feature, which could accidentally deactivate the alarm, preventing it from sounding in case of a fire. Nest advised users to install a software update to disable this feature, making the smoke alarm safe to use [26594]. The incident was addressed through a software update, indicating that the failure was temporary and could be resolved by mitigating the specific issue introduced by the feature. |
| Behaviour |
omission, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article is not described as a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions [26594].
(b) omission: The software failure incident in the article is related to the Nest Protect smoke alarm being accidentally deactivated, which would prevent it from sounding in the event of a fire. This can be categorized as a failure due to omission, where the system omits to perform its intended functions at an instance [26594].
(c) timing: The software failure incident in the article does not indicate a failure due to timing, where the system performs its intended functions correctly but too late or too early [26594].
(d) value: The software failure incident in the article is not described as a failure due to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly [26594].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident in the article is not related to the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions, which would fall under the category of a byzantine failure [26594].
(f) other: The software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a failure due to a bug in the software that caused the Nest Protect smoke alarm to be accidentally deactivated, leading to the omission of its intended function of sounding in the event of a fire [26594]. |