I’ve been away on holiday during the one of the most public, and potentially most expensive, IT screwups for some time. By now everyone will be aware of the meltdown in RBS/NatWest/Ulster Bank systems. Since my return, I’ve been catching up on some of the on-line commentary and analysis. I particularly liked this comment on El Reg in an article discussing how management might address the root causes of the fault:
“the decision to put the cheapest person they could find anywhere in the world in such a responsible position was a bad idea.”
That reminded me of Alan Shepherd’s famous quote about the early US space programme:
“It’s a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one’s safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.”
I guess some people are currently looking for new jobs.