| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization:
In December last year, several Amazon services, including its website, Prime Video, and applications that use Amazon Web Services (AWS), experienced an outage for thousands of users. The e-commerce company attributed the outage to problems related to the application programming interface (API) [123008].
(b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization:
There is no information in the provided article to suggest that a similar incident has happened at other organizations or with their products and services. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design |
(a) The software failure incident in the article can be attributed to the design phase. The incident was caused by an issue that impacted some Alexa customers' ability to interact with the service, leading to outages in the UK and across Europe. The outage affected users' ability to use their Alexa-powered devices for various tasks like playing music, setting alarms, and accessing reminders. Amazon confirmed the issue and mentioned that the Alexa service is now operating normally, indicating a problem introduced during the system development or updates [123008]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident with Alexa virtual assistant service was within the system. Amazon confirmed that there was an issue impacting some Alexa customers' ability to interact with the service, leading to outages in the UK and mainland Europe. Users reported being unable to use their Alexa-powered devices for various tasks like playing music, setting alarms, and accessing reminders [Article 123008].
(b) outside_system: There is no specific mention in the article about the software failure incident being caused by contributing factors originating from outside the system. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions:
- The article reports that Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant service suffered an outage in the UK and mainland Europe, impacting some Alexa customers' ability to interact with the service [Article 123008].
- The outage was confirmed by Amazon, and the Alexa service was reported to be back to normal after the incident [Article 123008].
- Users experienced issues such as being unable to wake their voice-activated Amazon Echo smart devices, seeing a ring of red lights, and receiving messages asking them to try again later [Article 123008].
- The reports of outages peaked at a certain time and then fell sharply, indicating a temporary disruption in service [Article 123008].
(b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions:
- There is no specific mention in the article of the software failure incident being caused by human actions. The focus is more on the outage itself and the impact on users [Article 123008].
- The article does not provide details suggesting that human actions directly contributed to the outage of the Alexa service in the UK and Europe [Article 123008]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident in the article does not seem to be related to hardware issues. The outage experienced by Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant service in the UK and mainland Europe was attributed to an issue that impacted some Alexa customers' ability to interact with the service. Users reported being unable to use their voice-activated Amazon Echo smart devices, play music, access alarms, or carry out daily tasks. The problem was specifically mentioned to have affected the Alexa service, indicating a software-related issue rather than a hardware one [123008]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident reported in Article 123008 does not indicate any malicious intent. The incident was described as an outage affecting the Alexa virtual assistant service in the UK and mainland Europe. Amazon confirmed that the issue impacted some Alexa customers' ability to interact with the service, leading to users being unable to use their voice-activated Amazon Echo smart devices for tasks like playing music, setting alarms, and accessing reminders. The outage was attributed to an issue with the Alexa service, and Amazon stated that the service is now operating normally. Users reported seeing red lights on their devices and receiving error messages, indicating a technical issue rather than a malicious attack [123008].
(b) The software failure incident in Article 123008 is categorized as non-malicious. The outage affecting the Alexa virtual assistant service in the UK and mainland Europe was attributed to an issue that impacted some Alexa customers' ability to interact with the service. Amazon confirmed that the incident was due to a technical problem, and users experienced difficulties in using their voice-activated Amazon Echo smart devices for various tasks. There is no indication in the article that the outage was caused by malicious activity or intent to harm the system [123008]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
unknown |
(a) The article does not provide specific information indicating that the software failure incident related to the Alexa outage was due to poor decisions. It mainly focuses on the outage itself, the impact on users, and the statement from Amazon confirming the issue and its resolution. Therefore, the intent of the software failure incident does not seem to be poor decisions [123008].
(b) The software failure incident related to the Alexa outage does not appear to be attributed to accidental decisions or mistakes. The article mentions that the outage impacted some Alexa customers' ability to interact with the service, leading to issues like being unable to wake voice-activated devices, play music, access alarms, or carry out daily tasks. Amazon confirmed the outage and stated that the Alexa service is now operating normally. The incident seems to be more of a technical issue rather than a result of accidental decisions or mistakes [123008]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is not explicitly mentioned in the provided article. Therefore, it is unknown if the incident was due to factors introduced by lack of professional competence.
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors is evident in the article. The outage experienced by Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant service in the UK and mainland Europe was described as an issue that impacted some Alexa customers' ability to interact with the service. This incident was not intentional but rather an accidental disruption in the service [123008]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Alexa outage reported in Article 123008 was temporary. The outage impacted some Alexa customers' ability to interact with the service in the UK and mainland Europe, but Amazon confirmed that the Alexa service is now operating normally. Users experienced issues such as being unable to wake their voice-activated Amazon Echo devices, seeing error messages, and facing difficulties in using various features of the Alexa service. The reports of outages peaked at about 8.20am GMT and had fallen sharply by 9.30am GMT, indicating a temporary disruption in service [123008]. |
| Behaviour |
crash, value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in Article 123008 can be categorized as a crash. Users reported being unable to interact with the Alexa service, with some seeing a ring of red lights and a message asking them to try again later or that "something went wrong." This indicates a failure of the system to perform its intended functions, resulting in a loss of service for users [123008].
(b) omission: The incident does not specifically mention the system omitting to perform its intended functions at a specific instance.
(c) timing: The incident does not indicate that the system performed its intended functions too late or too early.
(d) value: Users complained about being unable to use their Alexa-powered gadgets to play music or radio, access alarms and reminders, or carry out other daily tasks. This indicates a failure of the system to perform its intended functions correctly, resulting in incorrect behavior [123008].
(e) byzantine: The incident does not describe the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The other behavior observed in this incident is the system displaying a ring of red lights and a message asking users to try again later or that "something went wrong." This behavior is not explicitly covered by the options (a) to (e) and can be categorized as "other" [123008]. |