Human error and information systems failure: the case of the London ambulance service computer-aided despatch system project

Human error and systems failure have been two constructs that have become l inked in many contexts. In this paper we particularly focus on the issue of failure in relation to that group of software systems known as information systems. We first review the extant theoretical and empirical work on this topic. Then we discuss one particular well-known case - that of the London ambulance service computer-aided despatch system (LASCAD) project - and us e it as a particularly cogent example of the features of information system s failure. We maintain that the tendency to analyse information systems fai lure solely from a technological standpoint is limiting, that the nature of information systems failure is multi-faceted, and hence cannot be adequate ly understood purely in terms of the immediate problems of systems construc tion. Our purpose is also to use the generic material on IS failure and the specific details of this particular case study to critique the issues of s afety, criticality, human error and risk in relation to systems not current ly well considered in relation to these areas. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B. V. All rights reserved.