While major software development project problems are often the stuff of headlines, it seems they are more the rule than the exception - and we are getting worse at them.

The current desire of many organisations to accelerate software development projects has led to an unprecedented level of interest in the Agile software development methodology. But while Agile has dramatically shortened the rollout cycles for new projects, project managers have been warned that it in no way reduces the need for independent software testing.

Software testing organisation Planit is aiming to eliminate a contributor to software project failure in large organisations in Australia and New Zealand with a new training course designed to bolster skills in requirements engineering.