Quality assurance doesn't make the news very often... usually when critical and very visible software fails. But over the last few months, something has gone very wrong at top QA software company Mercury Interactive, maker of Test Director, Winrunner and Loadrunner.
According to <a href="http://news.morningstar.com/news/DJ/M01/D03/200601031451DOWJONESDJONLINE000518.html?pgid=qtqnNews2">this article</a>, "In November 2005, Mercury said an internal investigation discovered 49 instances in which dates on stock-option grants were reset. As a result, three top executives - Chairman and Chief Executive Amnon Landan, Chief Financial Officer Douglas Smith, and general counsel Susan Skaer - resigned. It was determined by the internal investigation that these executives benefitted from these practices."
How much damage has been done to the company? Hard to say... I can't find any solid figures. Some financial statements, including all the earnings reports for fiscal 2002 through the first quarter of 2005, will all have to be restated. Furthermore, second and third quarter earnings have not been reported. This has resulted in Mercury Interactive being delisted from NASDAQ!!
Good news for Compuware, IBM and Segue and perhaps some other automated testing software companies.
As more information becomes available, I will share it with you.
