Incident: BBC News at Ten Halts Due to Technical Systems Crash

Published Date: 2017-06-21

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident happened on June 21, 2017 [60474].
System The system that failed in the software failure incident reported in Article #60474 was: 1. Studio's software system [60474]
Responsible Organization 1. The technical systems crash was responsible for causing the software failure incident during the BBC News at Ten [60474].
Impacted Organization 1. BBC News at Ten presenter Huw Edwards was impacted by the software failure incident as he was left sitting in silence in the studio due to the technical fault [60474].
Software Causes 1. The software system in the studio went slightly crazy moments before the programme was due to start, causing a technical fault [60474].
Non-software Causes 1. The technical fault that halted the BBC News at Ten was attributed to a "technical systems crash" as mentioned by BBC News at Six and Ten editor Paul Royall [60474].
Impacts 1. The BBC News at Ten was temporarily halted for four minutes due to a technical fault, leaving presenter Huw Edwards sitting in silence in the studio [60474]. 2. The "Breaking News" logo flashed up 11 times during the show, causing alarm among viewers on social media [60474]. 3. Presenter Huw Edwards was not initially aware that he was on air due to the software glitch, leading to a lack of communication within the team [60474]. 4. Viewers on BBC One were played saxophone music during the delay, and an announcer on iPlayer apologized for the glitch [60474]. 5. The director had to switch to a back-up system quickly to address the technical systems crash [60474].
Preventions 1. Implementing thorough testing procedures to identify and address any potential software bugs or faults before they impact live broadcasts [60474]. 2. Regularly updating and maintaining the software systems to ensure they are stable and reliable [60474]. 3. Providing adequate training to the team members operating the software systems to effectively handle any technical issues that may arise [60474].
Fixes 1. Implementing a more robust backup system to quickly switch to in case of a technical systems crash [60474].
References 1. Huw Edwards, the presenter of BBC News at Ten [Article 60474] 2. Paul Royall, the editor of BBC News at Six and Ten [Article 60474] 3. Viewers who expressed alarm on social media [Article 60474] 4. Twitter users who used the #bbcnewsten hashtag to comment on the glitch [Article 60474]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident at the BBC, where the BBC News at Ten was halted due to a technical fault, is an example of a software failure incident happening again within the same organization. This incident was caused by a "technical systems crash" that led to a four-minute delay in the broadcast [60474]. The incident involved the studio's software system going "slightly crazy" moments before the program was supposed to start, resulting in presenter Huw Edwards being unaware that he was on air [60474]. (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 mentioned in the article was related to the design phase. The technical fault that halted the BBC News at Ten was attributed to a "technical systems crash" caused by the studio's software system going "slightly crazy" moments before the program was due to start [60474]. This indicates that the failure was due to contributing factors introduced by the system development or updates. (b) The article does not provide information indicating that the software failure incident was related to the operation phase.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the article was primarily attributed to a "technical systems crash" that occurred moments before the BBC News at Ten was supposed to air. The article mentions that the studio's software system "had gone slightly crazy" just before the program was scheduled to start, leading to a four-minute delay. The director had to switch to a back-up system quickly to address the issue, indicating an internal system failure [60474]. (b) outside_system: There is no explicit mention in the article of any contributing factors originating from outside the system that led to the software failure incident.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident in the BBC News at Ten was attributed to a "technical systems crash" by the BBC News at Six and Ten editor Paul Royall. He mentioned that the crash occurred seconds before the News at Ten was due to air, causing a four-minute delay. The director had to switch to a back-up system immediately to address the issue, indicating that the failure was due to contributing factors introduced without human participation [60474]. (b) In the same incident, Huw Edwards, the presenter, mentioned that the studio's software system had "gone slightly crazy" moments before the programme was supposed to start. He also highlighted that there was so much going on in the gallery that no one informed him that he was actually on air, leading to confusion and lack of communication. This lack of communication and oversight from the team regarding the presenter's status on air could be considered a contributing factor introduced by human actions [60474].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware, software (a) The software failure incident reported in the article was primarily attributed to a technical systems crash, which is a contributing factor originating in hardware. The delay in the BBC News at Ten was caused by a "technical systems crash" that occurred seconds before the program was supposed to air [60474]. (b) The software failure incident also mentioned issues with the studio's software system, which "had gone slightly crazy" moments before the program was due to start. This indicates that there were contributing factors originating in the software as well, leading to the glitch in the broadcast [60474].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident reported in the article was non-malicious. The failure was attributed to a "technical systems crash" that occurred seconds before the BBC News at Ten was supposed to air. The editor, Paul Royall, mentioned that the delay was caused by a technical systems crash, and the director had to switch to a back-up system quickly to address the issue. Additionally, viewers were played saxophone music during the delay, and an announcer apologized for the glitch on iPlayer. There is no indication in the article that the failure was due to malicious intent or actions by any individual [60474].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) accidental_decisions (a) The software failure incident reported in the article was not directly attributed to poor decisions. It was described as a "technical systems crash" that caused the four-minute delay in the BBC News at Ten broadcast. The incident was explained as the studio's software system "going slightly crazy" moments before the program was supposed to start, leading to Huw Edwards being on air without being informed. The director had to switch to a back-up system quickly to address the issue [60474]. (b) The software failure incident can be associated with accidental decisions or mistakes. Huw Edwards, the presenter, mentioned that he had not initially known he was on air and had to behave himself as he suspected he might be. He remained silent because he realized there were multiple platforms on which he could have been appearing, including BBC One. This lack of communication and awareness about the on-air status could be seen as an unintended decision or mistake in handling the situation [60474].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The software failure incident reported in Article #60474 was not explicitly attributed to development incompetence. The incident was described as a "technical systems crash" that caused a four-minute delay in the BBC News at Ten broadcast. Presenter Huw Edwards mentioned that the studio's software system had "gone slightly crazy" moments before the program was due to start, leading to confusion and delays in the broadcast. However, there was no direct indication in the article that the failure was due to incompetence in development. (b) The software failure incident in Article #60474 was described as an accidental technical fault that temporarily halted the BBC News at Ten broadcast. The delay was attributed to a "technical systems crash" that occurred seconds before the program was scheduled to air. Presenter Huw Edwards mentioned that he had not initially known he was on air due to the chaotic situation in the gallery caused by the software glitch. The incident was characterized as unexpected and accidental, rather than a deliberate action or intentional sabotage.
Duration temporary (a) The software failure incident in the BBC News at Ten article was temporary. It was caused by a "technical systems crash" that led to a four-minute delay in the broadcast [Article 60474]. The incident was not permanent as it was resolved, and the presenter was able to continue with the broadcast after the issue was addressed.
Behaviour crash, omission, other (a) crash: The software failure incident in the BBC News at Ten article was described as a "technical systems crash" that caused a four-minute delay in the broadcast [60474]. (b) omission: The presenter, Huw Edwards, mentioned that he was not informed that he was on air due to the software system going "slightly crazy" moments before the programme was supposed to start. This omission of information led to confusion and silence in the studio [60474]. (c) timing: The delay in the broadcast was attributed to a technical systems crash that occurred seconds before the News at Ten was scheduled to air. The director had to switch to a back-up system to address the timing issue caused by the software failure [60474]. (d) value: There was no specific mention of the software failure incident causing the system to perform its intended functions incorrectly in terms of the value provided by the software. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident did not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. (f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident in this case could be categorized as a combination of crash (system losing state and not performing intended functions) and omission (system omitting to provide critical information to the presenter), leading to a delay in the broadcast and confusion in the studio [60474].

IoT System Layer

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

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence delay The consequence of the software failure incident reported in the article was a delay. The technical fault that occurred during the BBC News at Ten broadcast caused a four-minute delay in the program. Presenter Huw Edwards was left sitting in silence in the studio due to the software failure, and viewers on BBC One were played saxophone music during the delay. The delay was attributed to a technical systems crash that happened seconds before the News at Ten was supposed to air [60474].
Domain information (a) The failed system in this incident was related to the information industry, specifically the broadcasting sector. The technical fault halted the BBC News at Ten broadcast, causing a four-minute delay in the program [Article 60474].

Sources

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