When we started researching various software development failures 6 years ago, we saw a common pattern. From the FAA’s AAS program in the 1980s to modern startups in the 2010s, the primary threats to business continuity are:
Technical failures/delays due to the lack of an adequate process for the review of requirements, architecture, and proposed code.
Key technical milestones could only be accomplished by a few team members because the technical documentation system did not facilitate efficient knowledge transfer to the entire team.
These threats have a significant negative impact on the maintainability, reliability, and performance of developed software. As well, they increase employee burnout and lead to delays in project timelines. Failure to counter these threats during the initial development of a software solution often dooms the software to failure for the rest of its service life. And in some cases, the company that makes the software.