My hell as a 911 operator

Don't be ridiculous. From that kind of perspective writing software is just typing.

Say, did you hire the programming team that wrote the software they are using?

Please find a way to wikileak it.

Totally agree. Even in projects at work, the worst possible thing people think they could do is admit that something they're working on doesn't work the right the first time.

I will say, though, that in the case of most projects I've worked on that are failing at some point, we do have something to show for it. We just have things that need to be fixed. Even a totally failed try is something you know doesn't work.

It seems like people equate admitting any failure as admitting total failure.

It's one of the only reasons I like my job. My boss is comfortable saying "this didn't work, that's fine, let's figure out why it didn't work and make something that does."

I recently had a project to reduce a certain call-type to our call centers. We implemented a new system in one part of the company after doing some research into the call drivers, and did a follow up a few months later. My followup showed nothing had changed. I don't have any problem saying that. It just means we need to look into which part of the plan failed, why, and how we can fix it. Either way we'll have a better understanding of the problem. I'd rather do that than fudge the followup, keep the problem, and pretend everything was fixed.

Ok, I have something to add here for the following reasons:

* I build big call centers for a living

* I'm a really big Telecom Nerd

You might be wondering why something as important as 911 is not automated or accessible via any other mechanism; why is it that the most critical service in the country runs on a system that hasn't materially changed since 1984?

For one, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is extremely reliable, authentic because it's logically addressed, and ubiquitous. The only real flaw is the addressing, which, because of Caller ID, can be faked, but that's another story (See Wikipedia on Swatting).

So, there's a huge movement to reshape 911 service to take advantage of modern things like the internet, SMS, GPS and all different kinds of connectivity. The way 911 works right now is sort of a hodgepodge all over the place depending on which vendor the municipality has selected for the Public Service Access Point. There is not one standardized 911 system across the country, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your perspective.

So everyone can agree fixing 911 is a great idea, BUT why hasn't it happened already? I can point to a couple potential reasons:

1) It's a really big contract; supposing PSAPs get standardized across the board, we're talking about many millions, potentially billions of dollars. That means lobbying and negotiation and time (oh by the way Sprint is currently leading the charge but I find it unlikely that the US will let a foreign-owned conglomerate manage their backbone emergency services).

2) The current vendors see nothing wrong with the existing solution, and have projects like what has happened in New York to stand against the tide of change. Their service contracts provide a big incentive to keep those boxes in those cities.

So I think there's a lot of reasons why 911 is as bad as it is, most of it isn't technical, but political, as with most old ridiculous infrastructures.

It's amazing how not planning for obsolescence almost automatically results in political conflict down the road.

Yes. Emigrate and revoke your current citizenship. People do it all the time.