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.
Software development failures can result in lawsuits recovering tens of millions of dollars when the proper expert witnesses are engaged. Our software failure expert witnesses 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 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 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 expert testimony and analysis of enterprise-scale systems.
Our experts have designed and analyzed numerous database applications.
We provide independent expert analysis for software in healthcare and medical records.
Experts in mobile software, analyzing app performance, security, and platform compatibility for legal cases and technical evaluations.
We understand database-driven websites, e‑commerce, SEO strategies, mapping systems, and other complex web apps.
Experts in computer networking, analyzing infrastructure, protocols, and security for legal cases and technical assessments.
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.
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.
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Isaac Pflaum is an IT litigation consultant and expert witness specializing in software source code review, patent, and copyright issues. Experienced in a wide range of technologies, he is also an attorney and registered patent agent with a background in financial services and software development.
Rick Watts’ exceptional career in information systems implementation spans 30 years. As an experienced and certified Enterprise Architect, Project Management Professional, and Software Engineering Master, his formidable expertise is well-suited for disputes involving enterprise software implementation, technical architecture and design, and systems integration delivery.
Steven McKay is an IT professional with 25+ years of experience spanning technical roles, enterprise IT leadership, and consulting. His expertise bridges hands-on technical skills and strategic oversight, making him uniquely qualified to advise on large-scale technology initiatives and software-related litigation.
Dr. Mahdi Eslamimehr is an award-winning computer 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.
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.
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.
