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Appointed as IT expert for the liability and quantum hearings in an arbitration relating to a US$1bn IT dispute centred on the failure of a US$3.75bn patient care records system. The project involved a complex, integrated national system provided by an international group of suppliers. Issues requiring review included the quality of the software, the system design and project delivery to determine the root causes of delay which spanned many years. 

Instructed to provide IT and project delivery expert witness services in the case of David MacBrayne Ltd v Atos IT Services (UK) Ltd, held before the Outer House of the Scottish Court of Session, concerning failed implementation of a new ferry ticketing system for a fleet of 33 vessels serving 53 ports throughout Scotland’s Hebridean and Clyde islands. Following contract review, considered primary causes of delay and failure and key dispute issues, including delivery methodology (‘Agile’ vs. ‘Waterfall’).

Appointed to provide independent project advisory services in relation to a frustrated technology implementation for an award-winning, UK-based health insurance provider. Key issues included a misunderstanding of initial expectations, continuous changes to project scope and an overall lack of communication, documentation and adherence to good project management. Following initial review of the project history, the exercise involved benchmarking performance of the supplied system against the legacy system to establish whether end-to-end performance had improved.

Instructed in the High Court case AFD Software v DCML Ltd to investigate a licensing dispute involving software enabling access to the Royal Mail’s postcode database for use in the automotive industry. Investigations focused on software copyright infringement via the replication of proprietary source code in memory when using the software, the basis upon which a £14.1m claim was calculated, and analysis of technical validity of the argument.

Appointed to provide expert determination for an automotive distributor based in the Middle East and its South African SAP implementation partner. Completion of a US$100m SAP platform solution required continuous progress monitoring and reporting on delays due to resourcing and scope changes. Reports identified causes and apportioned responsibility which was used to determine how much each party would contribute to associated costs of delay. For changes, reports identified whether individual aspects of functionality were in the original scope of work.

Instructed to produce expert report to assess the fitness for purpose of a household appliance manufactured by a multinational company. Investigation concentrated on whether the semi-conductor device was faulty, whether it was being used outside its specification, and whether the designers and suppliers were entitled to reasonably rely upon the position that selected components should be able to fail in a safe manner, even if the design of the appliance was sub-optimal.

Technology advisory services in support of a European consortium engaged in a dispute relating to the commissioning of an open road tolling project in Southern Africa. Operating under the FIDIC Gold Book Conditions of Contract for Design, Build and Operate (DBO) projects, the dispute arose over the impact of delay and allegations of the Employer failing to discharge its operational obligations. Assessed fitness for purpose relative to expected KPIs and assumptions, system scalability and performance tuning for the future.

Expert technology advisory services for a US$60m dispute relating to the implementation of an SAP enterprise resource planning software system at a major UK media and broadcasting corporation. The organisation was advised that specific SAP modules could interface with its legacy systems with no customisation and no changes to the existing legacy systems. In the event, the legacy systems required extensive re-work and the lifespan of the project, initially 12 months, extended to nearly three years.

Appointed to provide technical advisory services for a UK public sector IT implementation project which had fallen into dispute due to a disagreement regarding requirement gaps and scope creep. Following a “kill or cure” assessment, deployed tactic to assist the client with analysing the technical components of the delivery against the contractual dependencies to provide a ‘strengths and weaknesses’ portfolio for negotiation. The output provided to the client enabled successful continuation of the implementation.

Instructed as technology expert witness in a high-profile UK High Court case regarding functionality of a large, bespoke electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) payment and accounting system. Analysed contemporaneous and legacy documentation to opine on the suitability of the development process adopted in construction of the system. Key issues included the robustness of the software and its functionality, adequacy of the support services alongside review of historic bugs and issues, and testing practices.

Appointed to provide expert technical advisory services for Lead Counsel in a long-running, complex UK High Court public sector technology case. The dispute surrounds the adequacy of a high-throughput electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS) system and its various interlinking components and services. The exercise involved assessment of the contemporaneous evidence disclosed in order to ascertain whether hypotheses from the Defendant’s technical expert were valid.

Instructed to provide expert opinion and assist insurers prior to settlement following an alleged breach of warranties resulting from the acquisition of a telecommunications business by another multi-national telecoms company. When agreeing on a price, several warranties were contained in a management deed in respect of IT-related issues, including Microsoft and Oracle software licensing, which the purchaser relied upon. Shortly after purchase, and following investigation, the purchaser alleged the warrantors were in breach of warranties made at the time of purchase.