This is the Law of
Systems: the more complex the system, the greater the chance that something
will go wrong.
The Law applies to
organisations and it applies to technology – so it applies to the power of ten
to complex organisations with complex technology.
It should not therefore
be surprising that Heathrow Airport’s much-heralded Terminal 5 effectively
collapsed into chaos on its first day of operation.
No one who has ever
travelled by air can ever gloat over the cancellation of thirty four flights.
However, anyone who has had to put up with the boasting and arrogance of big
businesses like British Airways and BAA cannot fail to appreciate the hubris.
Let the entrepreneur
feel sympathy for the stranded passengers, none at all for British Airways, and
further reassurance of the superiority of the small and the simple over the big
and the needlessly complex.