[TheOtherHobbes]

The building collapsed because it was poorly maintained and there was serious structural damage - which could easily have been avoided.

This was noted three years ago by a civil engineering inspection, but the building's owners/managers did nothing about it.

[taeric]

This doesn't really take away from the point. The life cycle of most software projects is tiny compared to the life cycle of most buildings. And in most all failures, the warnings were clear way in advance.