Incident: Starbucks Cash Register Glitch Causes Payment Disruption and Free Coffee

Published Date: 2017-05-16

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident at Starbucks happened on May 16, 2017. [Article 59176, Article 59869]
System 1. Cash registers at some U.S. and Canadian Starbucks Corp stores [59176, 59869]
Responsible Organization 1. The glitch in a software update was responsible for causing the software failure incident at Starbucks Corp stores, leading to cash registers going offline for several hours [59176, 59869].
Impacted Organization 1. Starbucks Corp stores in the U.S. and Canada were impacted by the software failure incident [59176, 59869].
Software Causes 1. A glitch in a software update caused cash registers at some U.S. and Canadian Starbucks Corp stores to go offline for several hours, leading to the failure incident [59176, 59869].
Non-software Causes 1. The failure incident was caused by a glitch in a software update that occurred during the installation of a routine overnight software update at Starbucks stores [59176, 59869].
Impacts 1. The software failure incident caused cash registers at some U.S. and Canadian Starbucks Corp stores to go offline for several hours, leading to the stores giving away free coffee or accepting only cash payments [59176, 59869].
Preventions 1. Thorough Testing: Conducting comprehensive testing of the software update before deploying it could have helped identify any potential glitches or issues [59176, 59869]. 2. Backup Systems: Implementing backup systems or redundancy measures could have allowed for a smoother transition in case of a software failure during an update [59176, 59869]. 3. Monitoring Tools: Using monitoring tools to track the performance and status of the software update in real-time could have enabled quick detection and resolution of any issues that arose [59176, 59869].
Fixes 1. Ensuring a proper testing and validation process for software updates before deployment to prevent glitches like the one experienced by Starbucks [59176, 59869]. 2. Implementing a robust backup and recovery system to quickly restore operations in case of software failures during updates [59176, 59869]. 3. Conducting a thorough post-incident analysis to identify the root cause of the glitch and implementing measures to prevent similar incidents in the future [59176, 59869].
References 1. Starbucks spokeswoman Madeleine Löwenborg-Frick 2. Solarina Ho in Toronto 3. Sruthi Ramakrishnan 4. Alastair Sharp 5. Chris Helgren 6. Lisa Baertlein 7. Anna Driver 8. Reuters 9. Thomson Reuters Trust Principles 10. Jim Finkle 11. Steve Orlofsky 12. David Gregorio [Cited from: <Article 59176>, <Article 59869>]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring unknown (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: The incident at Starbucks with cash registers going offline due to a glitch in a software update is a specific incident that occurred within the same organization (Starbucks). There is no mention in the articles of a similar incident happening before at Starbucks. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: There is no information in the provided articles about a similar incident happening at other organizations or with their products and services.
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident at Starbucks was attributed to a glitch in a software update that occurred during the installation of a routine overnight update. This glitch caused cash registers at some U.S. and Canadian Starbucks stores to go offline, leading to the need to give away free coffee or accept only cash payments. This indicates a failure related to the design or development phase of the system [59176, 59869]. (b) The articles do not provide specific information indicating that the software failure incident at Starbucks was due to factors introduced by the operation or misuse of the system.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident at Starbucks, where cash registers went offline due to a glitch in a software update, was attributed to a problem installing a routine overnight software update. This indicates that the failure originated from within the system itself, specifically during the update process [59176, 59869].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident at Starbucks was attributed to a glitch in a software update, specifically mentioned as a problem installing a routine overnight software update. This glitch caused cash registers at some U.S. and Canadian Starbucks stores to go offline, leading to the need to give away free coffee or accept only cash payments. The glitch was not related to the "WannaCry" ransomware attack that was affecting computers globally [59176, 59869]. (b) The articles do not mention any specific human actions that contributed to the software failure incident at Starbucks. The failure was primarily attributed to a glitch in the software update installation process [59176, 59869].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) software (a) The software failure incident at Starbucks was attributed to a glitch in a software update, specifically related to a problem installing a routine overnight software update. This indicates that the failure originated from the software side rather than hardware side [59176, 59869].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident at Starbucks was non-malicious. The glitch in the software update that caused the cash registers to go offline was attributed to a problem installing a routine overnight software update, and it was unrelated to any malicious activity like the "WannaCry" ransomware attack [59176, 59869].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) accidental_decisions (a) The software failure incident at Starbucks was not due to poor decisions but rather an accidental decision related to a glitch in a routine overnight software update. The glitch caused cash registers at some U.S. and Canadian Starbucks stores to go offline, leading to the need to give away free coffee or accept only cash payments [59176, 59869].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence (a) The software failure incident at Starbucks was attributed to a glitch in a software update that caused cash registers at some U.S. and Canadian stores to go offline. The glitch was specifically blamed on a problem during the installation of a routine overnight software update. This indicates a failure due to contributing factors introduced due to lack of professional competence by humans or the development organization [59176, 59869]. (b) The incident was not described as accidental in the articles.
Duration temporary The software failure incident at Starbucks, where cash registers went offline due to a glitch in a software update, resulted in a temporary failure. The incident lasted for several hours on Tuesday, during which Starbucks had to give away free coffee or only accept cash payments [59176, 59869]. The issue was resolved as most stores were back online by late Tuesday afternoon, indicating that the failure was temporary and not permanent.
Behaviour crash, omission, other (a) crash: The software failure incident at Starbucks was due to a glitch in a software update that caused cash registers at some U.S. and Canadian stores to go offline for several hours, leading to the system not performing its intended functions of processing electronic payments [59176, 59869]. (b) omission: The software failure incident resulted in stores having to give away free coffee or only accept cash, indicating an omission in the system's ability to process electronic payments as intended [59176, 59869]. (c) timing: There is no specific mention of timing-related issues in the articles related to the Starbucks software failure incident. (d) value: The software failure incident was not attributed to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly but rather to the system's inability to process electronic payments due to the glitch in the software update [59176, 59869]. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident did not exhibit behaviors of inconsistent responses or interactions, as the root cause was identified as a glitch in a software update that affected the cash registers at the Starbucks stores [59176, 59869]. (f) other: The other behavior observed in this software failure incident was the need for Starbucks to give away free coffee or accept only cash as a temporary workaround for the system issue, which was not the intended normal operation of the software [59176, 59869].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence property, unknown (a) unknown (b) unknown (c) unknown (d) People were impacted in terms of their ability to make electronic payments at Starbucks stores due to the software failure incident. This led to stores giving away free coffee or only accepting cash [59176, 59869]. (e) unknown (f) unknown (g) The consequence of the software failure incident was that some Starbucks stores had to give away free coffee or only accept cash, but there were no reports of severe consequences such as harm, death, or major disruptions beyond the inconvenience of electronic payment systems being offline [59176, 59869]. (h) unknown (i) unknown
Domain sales (a) The failed system was intended to support the information industry as it affected the operation of cash registers at Starbucks stores, impacting the processing of transactions and information related to sales [59176, 59869]. (d) The software failure incident was directly related to the sales industry, as it caused cash registers at Starbucks stores to go offline, leading to issues with processing electronic payments and transactions [59176, 59869].

Sources

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