How have the consequences of software problems changed over the past 30 years? To begin to answer this question, we analyzed 386,381 news articles reporting on software problems published between 1980 and 2012, spanning widely circulated newspapers to small trade magazines. Our results show that after an increase in reporting just prior to Y2K, news on software problems has declined in North America, but increased in the rest of the world. Most articles only report minor consequences such as frustration, confusion, anger, or at worst, having to delay some activity for a few hours, usually due to service outages in government, transportation, finance, and information services. However, about once per month, the news reports at least one death, injury, or threatened access to food or shelter due to software problems. Reports of these severe consequences are also increasing, due primarily to stories about transportation and government software.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.