Published Date: 2019-12-31
| Postmortem Analysis | |
|---|---|
| Timeline | 1. The software failure incident happened around the turn of the millennium, specifically on January 1, 2000, due to the Y2K problem [93103]. |
| System | 1. Various computer systems, including business IT systems, PCs, factory control computers, offshore oil platform control systems, and the UK's Rapier anti-aircraft missile system, had Y2K errors that needed to be checked and fixed [93103]. |
| Responsible Organization | 1. The software failure incident, known as the Y2K problem or the Year 2000 bug, was caused by the way dates were abbreviated in computer data since 1951, omitting the century to save space and speed up processing. This led to errors in date calculations and processing, impacting various systems and causing potential failures [Article 93103]. |
| Impacted Organization | 1. Air traffic controllers in Scotland and London [93103] 2. New York state video store customers [93103] 3. New York state video rental store customers [93103] 4. Customers of credit-card systems and cash points [93103] 5. Nuclear reactors internationally [93103] 6. Oil pumping station in Yumurtalik, cutting off supplies to Istanbul [93103] 7. Power cuts in Hawaii [93103] 8. Government computers in China and Hong Kong [93103] 9. Pregnant women in Yorkshire hospitals [93103] |
| Software Causes | 1. The software causes of the failure incident were primarily related to the Year 2000 bug, also known as the Y2K problem. This bug stemmed from the way dates were stored and processed in computer systems, where the century was often omitted to save space and speed up processing. This led to incorrect date calculations and interpretations, causing various issues such as incorrect billing, age miscalculations, and system failures [93103]. |
| Non-software Causes | 1. The failure incident was primarily caused by the "millennium bug" or the Year 2000 bug, which stemmed from the way dates were abbreviated in computer data since 1951, omitting the century to save space and speed up processing [93103]. 2. The failure incident was exacerbated by the fact that many systems, including business IT, PCs, factory control computers, offshore oil platform computers, and even the UK's Rapier anti-aircraft missile system, were found to have Y2K errors related to date processing [93103]. 3. The failure incident was also influenced by the lack of awareness and preparedness among organizations, as highlighted by a UK survey in 1995 that found only 15% of senior managers were aware of the Y2K problem, and many organizations had not started addressing the issue until later years [93103]. |
| Impacts | 1. Flights were cancelled due to fears of planes or airports failing at midnight because of the "millennium bug" [93103]. 2. A customer at a New York state video store received a bill for $91,250 for renting a film for 100 years [93103]. 3. Many credit-card systems and cash points failed, leading to some customers receiving bills for 100 years' interest [93103]. 4. Internationally, 15 nuclear reactors shut down, the oil pumping station in Yumurtalik failed, cutting off supplies to Istanbul, power cuts occurred in Hawaii, and government computers failed in China and Hong Kong [93103]. 5. More than 150 pregnant women were given the wrong results from tests due to a computer system miscalculating their date of birth, leading to incorrect risk assessments for Down's syndrome [93103]. |
| Preventions | 1. Proper date handling practices: Implementing correct date handling practices in software systems could have prevented the Y2K software failure incident. This includes storing and processing dates with the full year information to avoid ambiguity and errors [93103]. 2. Early awareness and action: If organizations had been more aware of the Y2K problem earlier on and taken urgent action to address it, the software failure incident could have been prevented. Initiatives like TaskForce 2000 and Action 2000 aimed at raising awareness and coordinating efforts to fix the issue played a crucial role in mitigating the potential failures [93103]. 3. Thorough system checks: Conducting thorough checks and audits of systems to identify and rectify Y2K errors in advance could have prevented the software failure incident. Auditors played a role in ensuring companies had credible assurance that their systems would function beyond January 2000 [93103]. |
| Fixes | 1. The software failure incident caused by the Y2K problem could be fixed through a coordinated international effort to identify and correct Y2K errors in various systems, including business IT, PCs, factory control computers, and critical infrastructure like anti-aircraft missile systems [Article 93103]. 2. Companies and organizations needed to invest significant resources and effort to find and fix Y2K-related issues in their systems, making it the biggest IT project many had ever undertaken [Article 93103]. 3. Auditors played a role in ensuring companies had credible assurance that their systems would survive beyond January 2000, putting pressure on organizations to address the Y2K problem [Article 93103]. 4. Awareness campaigns like TaskForce 2000 and Action 2000, with government budgets and international coordination efforts by entities like the G8 summit and the UN, helped raise awareness and drive action to fix the Y2K problem [Article 93103]. | References | 1. Joe Lyons - Introduced the world's first business computers to manage their bakeries and cafes [Article 93103] 2. New York Stock Exchange - Completed a seven-year project to correct all its systems at a cost of $30m [Article 93103] 3. TaskForce 2000 - Led an awareness campaign regarding the Y2K issue [Article 93103] 4. Action 2000 - Joined the awareness campaign with a £17m government budget [Article 93103] 5. G8 summit and the UN - Coordinated international action regarding the Y2K problem [Article 93103] 6. Deloitte Consulting - Led Y2K work internationally in the mid-1990s [Article 93103] 7. Visa - Had issues with credit-card machines not handling cards that expired after 1999 [Article 93103] 8. UN International Y2K Coordination Centre - Estimated the cost of correcting Y2K problems [Article 93103] 9. Various international incidents - Power cuts in Hawaii, nuclear reactors shutting down, oil pumping station failure in Yumurtalik, government computer failures in China and Hong Kong [Article 93103] 10. Health visitor in Yorkshire - Noticed an unusual number of babies being born with Down's syndrome due to a computer system error [Article 93103] |
| Category | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Recurring | one_organization, multiple_organization | (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: - The article discusses the Y2K problem that occurred in the past, where various organizations faced issues due to date-related errors in their software systems [93103]. - It mentions how the UK's Rapier anti-aircraft missile system had a Y2K fault that would have prevented it from firing, indicating a software failure within a specific organization [93103]. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: - The article highlights that many organizations worldwide faced challenges due to the Y2K problem, requiring significant efforts and resources to rectify the date-related errors in their systems [93103]. - It mentions that internationally, correcting Y2K problems cost thousands of person-years of effort and many billions of pounds, indicating a widespread issue across multiple organizations [93103]. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) | design, operation | (a) The article mentions the Year 2000 bug, also known as the Y2K problem, which was a software failure incident related to the design phase. The issue stemmed from the way dates were abbreviated in computer data to save space and speed up processing, omitting the century. This design flaw led to errors in interpreting dates, causing significant problems across various systems and industries [93103]. (b) The article also highlights failures related to the operation phase. For example, the incorrect calculation of women's dates of birth from January 2000 by a computer system used in hospitals resulted in more than 150 pregnant women being given wrong test results for Down's syndrome. This operational failure led to incorrect categorization of high-risk pregnancies, highlighting the impact of system operation on critical outcomes [93103]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) | within_system, outside_system | (a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the Y2K problem was primarily within the system. The issue stemmed from the way dates were handled within computer systems, where the century was omitted to save space and speed up processing. This led to errors in date calculations, causing various problems such as incorrect billing, system shutdowns, and incorrect test results [93103]. The failures were a result of how the software systems processed and interpreted date information internally. (b) outside_system: The Y2K problem also had contributing factors that originated from outside the system. The issue was not just limited to the software itself but was a result of how dates were represented and processed in various systems across different organizations and industries. The need for urgent action and international coordination to address the Y2K problem highlights the external impact on software systems [93103]. The failure was exacerbated by the widespread use of date processing standards that did not account for the change in centuries, affecting systems beyond individual organizations. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) | non-human_actions, human_actions | (a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions: The software failure incident related to the Y2K problem, also known as the Year 2000 bug, was primarily caused by the way dates were abbreviated in computer data since 1951. The century was omitted to save space and speed up processing, leading to errors when dates crossed over into the new millennium. This non-human factor of date processing in computer systems contributed to the widespread Y2K software failures [93103]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions: The Y2K problem was exacerbated by human actions such as the decision to omit the century in date abbreviations to save space and speed up processing. Additionally, the delay in addressing the Y2K issue by organizations and the lack of awareness among senior managers about the problem were human factors that contributed to the software failure incident [93103]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) | hardware, software | (a) The software failure incident occurring due to hardware: - The article mentions that faults were found in the computers that controlled factories and offshore oil platforms, indicating hardware-related issues [93103]. - The UK’s Rapier anti-aircraft missile system had a Y2K fault that would have prevented it firing, which points to a hardware-related failure [93103]. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to software: - The Y2K problem, also known as the Year 2000 bug, was primarily a software-related issue where dates had been abbreviated in computer data causing errors in date processing [93103]. - The article discusses how many PCs could not handle dates in 2000, indicating software-related limitations [93103]. - The computer system used in nine hospitals calculated the women’s date of birth incorrectly from January 2000, leading to incorrect results for pregnant women, highlighting a software-related failure [93103]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) | non-malicious | (a) The software failure incident related to malicious intent can be seen in the context of the Y2K problem or the Year 2000 bug. This incident was not caused by a direct malicious act but rather by the unintentional introduction of a software flaw due to the way dates were handled in computer systems. The omission of the century in date abbreviations led to significant errors in date calculations, causing various systems to malfunction when transitioning to the year 2000. While not a deliberate act of sabotage, the failure was a result of human error and oversight in software design and implementation [93103]. (b) The software failure incident related to non-malicious factors can be attributed to the unintentional introduction of the Y2K problem. The issue stemmed from the historical practice of abbreviating dates in computer systems without including the century, leading to incorrect date calculations and system failures when transitioning to the year 2000. This failure was not caused by any deliberate intent to harm the systems but rather by a lack of foresight and understanding of the potential consequences of the date format used in software [93103]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) | poor_decisions, accidental_decisions | (a) The intent of the software failure incident related to poor decisions can be seen in the Year 2000 bug incident, also known as the Y2K problem. This issue arose due to the decision to abbreviate dates in computer data by omitting the century to save space and speed up processing. This led to confusion in interpreting dates, causing various errors and failures across different systems [93103]. (b) The intent of the software failure incident related to accidental decisions is evident in the case of the Millennium bug. The errors and failures that occurred due to the Y2K problem were unintended consequences of the initial decision to abbreviate dates in computer data for efficiency purposes. The failures were not intentional but rather a result of unforeseen complications arising from the date format used in the systems [93103]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) | development_incompetence | (a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence can be seen in the case of the Year 2000 bug, also known as the Y2K problem. This issue arose due to the way dates were abbreviated in computer data since 1951, omitting the century to save space and speed up processing. This led to errors in date calculations, causing various problems such as incorrect billing, incorrect age calculations, and system malfunctions [93103]. (b) The software failure incident related to accidental factors can be observed in the case of the Millennium bug where the radar at Scottish air traffic controllers appeared to have failed, leading to the cancellation of flights. However, the radar was actually working perfectly fine, and the issue arose due to fears related to the Y2K problem, which was not an actual failure but a perceived one based on the misunderstanding of the date format in the system [93103]. |
| Duration | temporary | The software failure incident related to the Y2K problem was temporary in nature. The failure was due to contributing factors introduced by certain circumstances, specifically the incorrect handling of dates in computer systems leading up to the year 2000. This temporary failure resulted in various issues such as incorrect billing, system shutdowns, and errors in critical calculations [93103]. |
| Behaviour | crash, omission, timing, value | (a) crash: The article mentions that the UK's Rapier anti-aircraft missile system had a Y2K fault that would have prevented it from firing [93103]. (b) omission: The article describes a serious UK problem where more than 150 pregnant women were given the wrong results from tests because the computer system used in nine hospitals calculated the women's date of birth incorrectly from January 2000, leading to incorrect risk assessments [93103]. (c) timing: The article discusses failures such as credit-card systems and cash points failing, some customers receiving bills for 100 years' interest, and power cuts in Hawaii, which could be considered timing failures as the systems were functioning but at the wrong time [93103]. (d) value: The article mentions a customer at a New York state video store receiving a bill for $91,250 for renting a film for 100 years, indicating a failure in the system performing its intended functions incorrectly in terms of value [93103]. (e) byzantine: The article does not specifically mention any instances of the software behaving with inconsistent responses or interactions. (f) other: The article does not provide information on any other specific behavior of the software failure incident. |
| Layer | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Perception | None | None |
| Communication | None | None |
| Application | None | None |
| Category | Option | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Consequence | harm, property, non-human, theoretical_consequence | (a) death: There is no mention of people losing their lives due to the software failure incident in the provided article [93103]. (b) harm: The article mentions a serious UK problem where more than 150 pregnant women were given the wrong results from tests because the computer system calculated the women's date of birth incorrectly, leading to harm as women who should have been identified as high-risk were wrongly told they did not need further testing [93103]. (c) basic: There is no direct mention of people's access to food or shelter being impacted due to the software failure incident in the provided article [93103]. (d) property: The article mentions instances where customers received bills for 100 years' interest, a customer at a video rental store had a bill for $91,250, and some customers were briefly rich due to billing errors caused by the software failure incident [93103]. (e) delay: The article does not specifically mention people having to postpone an activity due to the software failure incident [93103]. (f) non-human: The article mentions various non-human entities being impacted by the software failure incident, such as nuclear reactors shutting down, oil pumping stations failing, power cuts in Hawaii, and government computers failing in China and Hong Kong [93103]. (g) no_consequence: There is no mention of there being no real observed consequences of the software failure incident in the provided article [93103]. (h) theoretical_consequence: The article discusses potential consequences that were discussed but did not occur, such as the threat of a catastrophe due to the Y2K problem, which was later considered a myth after January 1 passed without major incidents [93103]. (i) other: The article does not mention any other specific consequences of the software failure incident beyond those described in options (a) to (h) [93103]. |
| Domain | transportation, manufacturing, utilities, finance, health, government | (a) The failed system was related to the finance industry as it involved credit card systems and financial transactions [93103]. (b) The failed system also impacted the transportation industry as there were reports of flight cancellations due to fears of the millennium bug affecting planes and airports at midnight [93103]. (c) The incident did not directly involve the natural resources industry. (d) The finance industry was significantly affected by the software failure incident, as mentioned earlier [93103]. (e) The incident did not directly involve the construction industry. (f) The manufacturing industry was impacted as faults were found in computers that controlled factories and offshore oil platforms [93103]. (g) The utilities industry was indirectly affected as there were reports of power cuts in Hawaii due to the Y2K problem [93103]. (h) The finance industry was a major focus of the Y2K issue, as credit card systems and financial operations were at risk [93103]. (i) The incident did not directly involve the knowledge industry. (j) The health industry was impacted by the software failure incident as a computer system miscalculated women's dates of birth, leading to incorrect test results for pregnant women in hospitals [93103]. (k) The incident did not directly involve the entertainment industry. (l) The government sector was affected as government computers failed in China and Hong Kong due to the Y2K problem [93103]. (m) The incident did not directly involve any other specific industry mentioned in the options. |
Article ID: 93103