How complex software systems fail - Map of Content

A map of content to help quality engineers understand how to limit and mitigate issues caused by complex system failures.

Scroll down for an interactive table with all 18 characteristics

How complex software systems fail is a three-part essay divided into seven smaller posts that elaborate on how complex software systems fail, based on Dr. Richard Cook's 18 failure characteristics. If you prefer to read the posts in the order they were written, then see Part 1 to learn about the six characteristics that result in quality loss at the product layer, Part 2 to explore the six characteristics leading to quality loss at the process layer, and Part 3 to understand the six characteristics leading to quality loss at the people layer.

What is this post?

This final post is a map of content that acts like an entryway to the 18 characteristics. This post can help quality engineers understand how quality can be lost in software systems and what strategies can be used to limit and mitigate issues caused by complex system failures.

How to use this post

This post is best viewed on larger screens, as the tables I’ve used allow you to reorder and search them. However, you can still view it on smaller screens to see the card view of each table entry.

You can use this post in 4 different ways:

1. The summary of the characteristics provides a high-level overview of each characteristic, with links to access the details directly.

2. A narrative of how complex software systems fail is a great way to quickly refresh your knowledge of all 18 characteristics in narrative form grouped into the 3Ps, including quick links to each characteristic.

3. Patterns are all about helping you understand the patterns you're looking for when working with complex software systems that can lead to quality loss. They also detail the outcomes of those patterns and nudges that can be employed to limit their impact.

4. Practices look at the techniques we can use to improve complex software systems, the advantages they bring, trade-offs we should consider, examples, and further reading.

Summary of the 18 characteristics

Use the summaries below if you want a quick way to see each characteristic ordered by products, processes, and people. It is helpful when you know which characteristics you want but need help finding them quickly.

A narrative of how complex software systems fail

Below is a short narrative of the 18 characteristics of how complex software systems fail. Use this to help when you're unsure which characteristics you're looking for and want a quick way to digest them. You can then use the numbered links to jump into the details.