Investors surprised by results of software development contract

Software Project Failure

Investors surprised by results of software development contract

Our software experts provide in-depth analyses of
development processes and software requirements​

We are familiar with large-scale software development contracts and the hazards that lead to breach-of-contract disputes. Additionally, we are experienced in complex litigation and we can provide unbiased opinions in matters of software project failure.

Contact Us
We are experts in software contract failure

Unfortunately, many software development contracts end in dispute as a result of budget overrun, late project deliverables, or because of flawed software.

Software contract failures can result in lawsuits recovering tens of millions of dollars when the proper experts are engaged. Our software failure experts can help assess whether the terms of contract have been met, if the issues were within reason, and conclusively determine the feasibility of a lawsuit.

Our response to these engagements is to assemble a team of experts who collectively assist in technical discovery, evaluation of source code and development processes, author expert reports, and ultimately provide expert witness testimony in depositions and courtrooms.

Government Software Failure

Government software procurement failure is a serious risk and massive expense because state and federal agencies need software for public services across a range of industries including education, healthcare admin, infrastructure, and tax collection.

A major challenge is that the project planning, requirements tracking, and SDLC systems used by contractors and by government project managers are often not aligned. The desire to schedule software deployment dates years in advance often creates unreasonable expectations before the parties fully understand the complexity of the implementation or the risks.

Changes in political leadership can greatly influence the availability of continued funding. In addition, changes to laws and regulations can reshape the requirements of a software project already underway, and compromise the project’s feasibility within budget constraints.

Commercial Software Failure

Commercial software projects bring different challenges to customers and software developers/integrators. Commercial projects can be installation of a commercial off-the-shelf software (COTS) such as SAP, AVEVA, or Salesforce. Alternatively, a customer can hire a software developer to build a custom customer relationship management (CRM) project.

From the customer side, commercial software integration requires buy-in at the ground level from stakeholders including the end-user, the management, stockholders, and sometimes even vendors. Transfer of legacy data can present a tremendous challenge depending on how well structured the original data gathering and capturing process. Similar to government projects, the knowledge base of the management team overseeing the project can impact the success of the implementation.

From the developer side, the developer may decide to use a customer as the beta tester for a potential COTS offering. If responsibility for data management has been put on the developer, the business analyst from the customer needs to be available to explain the data and coordinate or clarify any areas which cause questions. Importing a catalog of data from a third party may offer a bigger challenge to the database management. The integration may have a fixed deadline but customer super-users (the customer users who will train the other users) may not have availability for the necessary training.

Communication of expectations and allocation of responsibility falls on both the customer and developer. If the developer wants to beta test a new product, has the customer been made aware of that plan? If the customer legacy data is badly corrupted, does assigning responsibility for data migration to the integrator make sense?

Because commercial software projects involve multiple parties, the trier of fact needs a company which understands both sides of the responsibilities which may cause a project to become delayed, struggle to launch, or fail outright. Quandary Peak has experts who have worked on both sides of the software implementation, and we can help navigate the facts to find what really happened.

Our software failure expert witnesses are experienced in complex litigation regarding software procurement contracts.

We apply our computer science expertise and legal experience to investigate the complaints, determine liability, prepare expert reports, and testify our findings in courtrooms, in arbitration, and in deposition.


We provide consulting and perform critical assignments to support litigation in software contract failure

  • Review Software Development Practices
  • Review & Assess Source Code Quality With Proprietary Analysis Tools
  • Examine Confidential Systems & Code On-Site
  • Review Project Documentation
  • Inspect Contracts
  • Interview Fact Witnesses & Contributing Teams
  • Measure Completion of Project

We are knowledgeable in many computer technologies
that are related to software failure disputes

Mobile Apps

We provide expert testimony and analysis of mobile and wireless devices.

Learn More
Internet & Web

We understand database-driven websites, e‑commerce, SEO strategies, mapping systems, and other complex web apps.

Learn More
Computer Networks

We provide expert witness testimony and analysis of computer networks.

Learn More
Software experts discuss the details of a project failure case
avoid bias disqualification

We provide unbiased opinions in matters of software project failure.

We have many years of experience with more than 100 cases working on behalf of both vendors and end-user clients, serving expert testimony in depositions and in courtrooms.

Ask About Our Vendor Connections
Software experts share the workload of source code review
We help lower your litigation costs

We delegate time-consuming tasks to adjuvant software experts at lower hourly rates.

Our team of software experts dispense the workload of source code analysis and contract inspection, we identify failures, and we culminate our findings so that a testifying expert can explain the parties at fault and the reasons that led to failure.

Litigation Consulting

What We Know

Contracts, Tools, and Processes

  • Software development contracts
  • Software valuation
  • Software cost estimation tools
(COCOMO)
  • Software development processes (Agile, Waterfall, etc.)
  • Project management tools (SVN, Git, Mercurial)
  • System quality control standards (ISO 9000/9001, SEI’s CMMI)

What We Do

Analyze and Evaluate

  • Provide in-depth analyses of software development processes and software requirements
  • Assess the reasons behind, and the parties responsible for, the difficulties in the development of or a failure of a particular project
  • Determine the objective value of a software system under dispute based on a number of factors, including the quality, size, and complexity of the delivered system

Meet Our Team of Software Failure Experts

We assemble a team with complementary knowledge and skills to fit your project. Each of our software experts specializes in certain areas and they collaborate to strengthen your case.
Isaac Pflaum - Expert Witness

Isaac Pflaum

Director of Complex Software Litigation Chicago

Isaac Pflaum has more than a decade of experience as a scientist, attorney, and consultant to Fortune 100 tech companies and government agencies. He serves as an expert witness in software-related litigation such as patent infringement and breach-of-contract matters.

LitigationLitigationTestifying and Consulting Expert
Health ITFocus AreaGovernment Contracts & Health Exchanges
Mahdi Eslamimehr - Senior Software Consultant

Mahdi Eslamimehr, PhD, MBA

VP of Emerging Tech Due Diligence Los Angeles

Dr. Mahdi Eslamimehr is an award-winning scientist and a senior tech executive in the software product and service industry. He has years of experience in leading tech companies around the world, including Ericsson R&D Center, Samsung Electronics R&D Labs, SAP Research Lab, and Y Combinator.

LitigationLitigationTestifying and Consulting Expert
Due DiligenceArea of ExpertiseProgram Analysis
Brad Ulrich - Software Expert Witness

Brad Ulrich

VP of Health IT & Audits Nashville

Brad Ulrich has a diverse career as a computer scientist, software engineer, technology manager, and entrepreneur. His experience spans software design, programming, patent management, healthcare, mobile devices, startups, technology licensing, regulatory compliance, and risk management.

LitigationLitigationSenior Testifying Expert
Health ITFocus AreaSoftware & Standards
Due DiligenceArea of ExpertiseHealth IT & Standards
Cassie Oates - Director of Litigation Discovery

Cassie Oates

Director of Litigation Discovery Los Angeles

Cassie Oates has a decade of experience working with software experts in large and small-scale software failure litigation. Experienced in arbitration, bench trials, and jury trials; Ms. Oates offers expertise in document review, fact witness interviews, change management, and testing best practices.

LitigationLitigationExpert Witness Support
Andrew Holm-Hansen - Health IT Solutions Architect

Andrew Holm-Hansen

Director of Health IT Engineering Nashville

Andrew Holm-Hansen has worked in Health IT for 15 years, and led several development teams during his career. As an Enterprise Architect, he distilled complex information that cut across legal, staffing, and technology boundaries, to provide decision-makers with actionable information.

LitigationLitigationConsulting Expert
Health ITFocus AreaSoftware Architecture & Engineering
Anna Mathias - Project Manager, Health IT

Anna Mathias, BS, PMP

Project Manager, Health IT and Litigation Nashville

Anna Mathias is a certified Project Manager with a focus in organizing, supporting, and contributing to work products related to Electronic Health Record (EHR) software quality, regulatory, and patient safety assessments. She is a strong leader and team player with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

LitigationLitigationExpert Witness Support
Health ITFocus AreaSafety & Quality Assessments

Speak with an Expert Today