| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to the delayed product recall alerts due to customers who had opted out of marketing emails being excluded from receiving notifications happened at Sainsbury's. The incident was attributed to a flaw in Sainsbury's product recall protocol, which led to a delay in some customers receiving the recall notice [117600].
(b) There is no specific information in the provided article about the software failure incident happening again at other organizations or with their products and services. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident related to the design phase can be seen in the article where Sainsbury's failed to warn cat owners about toxic food because customers who had opted out of marketing emails were excluded from alerts about a nationwide product recall. This exclusion of customers who opted out of marketing emails from receiving important alerts about product recalls indicates a flaw in the design of the system where the recall notifications were tied to marketing emails [117600].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is evident in the delay some customers experienced in receiving the product recall notice. A systems issue led to a delay in some customers receiving the recall notice, indicating a failure in the operation of the system that resulted in customers not being promptly informed about the potential risks associated with the cat food products [117600]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident in this case was due to a flaw in Sainsbury's product recall protocol, which led to a delay in some customers receiving the recall notice for toxic cat food [117600]. The issue originated from within the system's protocol for sending out alerts and notifications to customers who had purchased the affected products. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was due to non-human_actions. Sainsbury's failed to warn cat owners about toxic food because customers who had opted out of marketing emails were excluded from alerts about a nationwide product recall. The flaw in the product recall protocol led to a delay in some customers receiving the recall notice, which was a systems issue rather than a direct human action [117600]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was not directly related to hardware issues but rather to a flaw in Sainsbury's product recall protocol. The delay in sending out alerts about the toxic cat food was attributed to a systems issue within Sainsbury's software systems. Customers who had opted out of marketing emails were inadvertently excluded from receiving important product recall notifications, highlighting a software-related flaw in the process [117600].
(b) The software failure incident was primarily attributed to a flaw in Sainsbury's product recall protocol, indicating that the contributing factors originated in the software systems of the company. The delay in sending out alerts about the toxic cat food was due to a systems issue within Sainsbury's software, which led to some customers not receiving timely notifications about the product recall [117600]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case does not appear to be malicious. The failure was attributed to a flaw in Sainsbury's product recall protocol, which led to a delay in some customers receiving the recall notice about toxic cat food [117600]. The incident was described as a "systems issue" by a Sainsbury's spokesperson, indicating that it was not intentional but rather a technical or procedural error [117600]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
The intent of the software failure incident in the reported article [117600] can be categorized as follows:
(a) poor_decisions: The software failure incident can be attributed to poor decisions made by Sainsbury's in their product recall protocol. Customers who had opted out of marketing emails were inadvertently excluded from receiving alerts about a nationwide product recall, leading to a delay in notifying them about potentially toxic cat food. This flaw in the product recall protocol was acknowledged by a Sainsbury's spokesperson, indicating a systemic issue that resulted in some pet owners not being warned for several weeks.
(b) accidental_decisions: The software failure incident can also be seen as a result of accidental decisions or unintended consequences. For example, customers like Linda, a software engineer from Edinburgh, did not receive a product recall notification because they had unsubscribed from promotional emails, which is where the recalls were provided from. This unintended consequence of excluding customers who opted out of marketing emails from receiving critical alerts about product recalls highlights a flaw in the system that was not intentionally designed but had significant negative impacts.
In summary, the software failure incident at Sainsbury's can be attributed to a combination of poor decisions in the product recall protocol and accidental decisions resulting from unintended consequences of excluding certain customers from receiving critical notifications. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was attributed to a flaw in Sainsbury's product recall protocol, which led to some pet owners not receiving alerts about the toxic cat food for several weeks. A Sainsbury's spokesperson acknowledged that a systems issue caused a delay in some customers receiving the recall notice, indicating a failure possibly due to development incompetence [117600].
(b) Additionally, the incident also highlights accidental factors contributing to the failure. For example, one customer who raised concerns about the food making his cat ill was initially told by the supermarket that they believed the sickness did not come from their product. This initial assessment could be seen as an accidental oversight or misjudgment that may have contributed to the delay in addressing the issue promptly [117600]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident related to the delayed product recall notifications for cat food at Sainsbury's can be categorized as a temporary failure. The delay in sending out the product recall alerts was attributed to a flaw in Sainsbury's product recall protocol, specifically a systems issue that led to a delay in some customers receiving the recall notice [117600]. This indicates that the failure was due to specific circumstances related to the system issue rather than a permanent, ongoing issue with the software system. |
| Behaviour |
omission, timing, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in this case did not involve a crash where the system lost state and did not perform any of its intended functions. Instead, the failure was related to a delay in sending out product recall alerts to customers who had opted out of marketing emails [117600].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can be categorized under omission, as the system omitted to perform its intended function of sending out product recall alerts to all customers who had purchased the affected cat food. Customers who had opted out of marketing emails were excluded from receiving these critical alerts, leading to a significant omission in the system's functionality [117600].
(c) timing: The software failure incident can also be attributed to a timing issue. While the system eventually sent out the product recall alerts, the timing was significantly delayed, with some customers only receiving the alerts several weeks after the recall was initiated. This delay in timely communication contributed to the severity of the situation [117600].
(d) value: The software failure incident did not involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly in terms of the value provided. The issue was more related to the delay and omission in sending out critical product recall alerts rather than the system providing incorrect information or services [117600].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident did not exhibit characteristics of a byzantine failure, where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The primary issue was the delay and omission in sending out product recall alerts, rather than erratic or inconsistent behavior of the system [117600].
(f) other: The software failure incident can be categorized under a failure related to a flaw in the product recall protocol, which led to some pet owners not receiving warnings for several weeks. This flaw in the system's protocol resulted in a critical omission in alerting customers about the potential dangers of the cat food they had purchased [117600]. |