[LINK] ABS Tries to Blame IBM for 2016 Census Problems

[Narelle]

Without yet reading the submissions, surely whether or not an entity can
blame its contractor all depends on the terms of the contract in place.
Case law may have found otherwise in that particular case, but in every
tender I have dealt with there are a series of specifications and
acceptance tests that define what should be working and what is acceptable.
Then you minute the project progress during implementation and hand over...

Of course, what you can present to a court and get redress on is another
matter again...


Narelle


On Tue, Sep 27, 2016 at 8:57 AM, Tom Worthington <
tom.worthington at tomw.net.au> wrote:

> In its 123 page submission to the 2016 Census Senate Inquiry, the
> Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) seeks to blame IBM for the failure of
> the system on Census night: http://www.aph.gov.au/Document
> Store.ashx?id=124f22ba-caaa-46ff-899d-7d96851fee3e&subId=414127
>
> Similarly, in the case of "Maguire v Sydney Organising Committee for the
> Olympic Games (2000)", SOCOG sought to deflect responsibility for defects
> in its web site to the contractor, IBM. However, this was rejected and
> SOCOG, not the contractor, was found responsible:
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguire_v_Sydney_Organising_Co
> mmittee_for_the_Olympic_Games_(2000)
>
> SOCOG was a temporary organization set up just to run the Sydney Olympics,
> with limited experience. In contrast, the ABS has decades of experience in
> statistical collection using IT systems and cannot credibly transfer
> responsibility to IBM.
>
> The 2016 Census will become a useful case study for teaching professional
> responsibility to IT students: http://www.tomw.net.au/basic_i
> ct_professional_ethics/
>
>
> --
> Tom Worthington FACS CP, TomW Communications Pty Ltd. t: 0419496150
> The Higher Education Whisperer http://blog.highereducationwhisperer.com/
> PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617, Australia  http://www.tomw.net.au
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> Legislation
>
> Adjunct Lecturer, Research School of Computer Science, College of
> Engineering & Computer Science, Australian National University
> http://people.cecs.anu.edu.au/user/3890 http://orcid.org/0000-0003-479
> 9-8464
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-- 


Narelle
narellec at gmail.com