Recycled Bullsh-IT

History Repeating

I first read about the Post Office Horizon scandal in my Computer Weekly rag in 2009.  Like most of us in IT, I scanned the paper for the funnies and the job ads.  It wasn’t known for serious journalism.  In fact, outside of computer departments it was completely unknown, and was seen as inferior to its main competitor, Computing Magazine.  Why has it taken 15 years and an ITV drama for it to be addressed?

Technologic

Claims from the Post Office and Fujitsu that the software was not buggy, and that no one could access it remotely, were met with sniggers by those in the know (i.e. EVERYONE in IT).  The two main truths in computing were, and still are:

1. All software is full of bugs
2. All systems have a backdoor so sysadmins can poke around to fix these bugs (and make other changes) without being spotted

Of course, if IT Managers/Directors/Suppliers want to keep their jobs, their clients/customers/victims must never find out about these facts. 

Oblivious

So, were the system users and their management unaware of these issues?  Hardly.  Good managers would engage with IT to get the bugs fixed ASAP and ensure customer data integrity.  Mediocre managers (the majority) would shrug, put in manual workarounds, and finger IT when they didn’t hit the targets the software was supposed to help deliver. Bad managers would exploit both the bugs and the backdoors to achieve their nefarious ends (fame, fortune, felony).   

It Wasn’t Me

Now if this buggy, gaping software screwed over people you didn’t like, (e.g. your cu*tomers, or your own plebby/”ethnic” employees), you probably wouldn’t care too much.  Unless it was found out.  At this point you can either ‘fess up and take the rap, or you can hunker down and brazen it out.

Hand in my Pocket

Even the most stupid scoundrel will know that the refutation route is a recipe for ruin if it is exposed.  So, they double down on deceit and dishonesty, becoming blind, deaf, and dumb to the impact of their actions on the casualties. Egged on by crooked lawyers and morally corrupt PR, they admit to seeing nothing, hearing nothing and knowing nothing.  Even when the truth emerges, they struggle to admit their guilt.

La Folie

Many of these disgraced leaders were vocal about their support for Corporate Social Responsibilities, while being irresponsible for trashing the casualties and their own companies.  The court of public opinion is rightly unforgiving in these situations.

Heroes

One of the (many) reasons* I have had a ‘varied’ (18 companies) career is my unwillingness to compromise my ethics and morals in a business context.  Telling the unwelcome truth to the unwilling execs has led to me being uninvited to work a number of times.  I don’t regret my actions, but it has buggered up my pension… 

I’m not encouraging people to be rash with their own careers and lives, but it might be good to be able to say, “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” when you retire.

John “Edith Piaf said it better than me” Moe

*Other reasons include being rubbish at my job, leaving through boredom, and occasionally because I blagged my way into an unsuitable job.