Analyzing a software failure
More than once I have emphasized here [1] [2] the urgency of rules requiring systematic a posteriori analysis of software mishaps that have led to disasters. I have a feeling that many more posts will be necessary before the idea registers.
Some researchers are showing the way. In a June 2009 article [4], Tetsuo Tamai from the University of Tokyo published a fascinating dissection of the 2005 Mizuo Securities incident at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where market havoc resulted from a software fault that prevented proper execution of the cancel command after an employee who wanted to sell one share at 610,000 yen mistakenly switched the two numbers.
I found out only recently about the article while browsing Dines Bjørner’s page and hitting on an unpublished paper [3] where Bjørner proposes a mathematical model for the trading rules. Tamai’s article deserves to be widely read.
References
[1] The one sure way to advance software engineering: this blog, see here.
[2] Dwelling on the point: this blog, see here.
[3] Dines Bjørner: The TSE Trading Rules, version 2, unpublished report, 22 February 2010, available online.
[4] Tetsuo Tamai: Social Impact of Information System Failures, in IEEE Computer, vol. 42, no. 6, June 2009, pages 58-65, available online (with registration); the article’s text is also included in [3].
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