An External Consultant built a board reporting portal

“The database isn't exposed. I think.”— Kevin, An External Consultant

Reason:

Allegedly because the backlog contains 84,469 items and one priority. With 2 users, one of whom is the CEO.

Built by:

Kevin, a team lead

Build time:

4 evenings

Built with:

an AI agent with production credentials

Database:

an Access database called copy of copy of Stock_list_v2_final_FINAL.xlsx with 8 linked tables

Authentication:

the certificate is self-signed and everybody clicked through

Deployment:

on a free tier that expires in 18 days

Responsible:

Bastian, currently on parental leave

Documentation:

an onboarding call everyone is expected to remember

Security situation:

the data protection officer does not know it exists

Future disaster:

It will be described as "legacy" before its first birthday.

Age: 17 days · originally expected to last 14 days · 1 owner so far · survived 1 reorganisation · last meaningful change 17 days ago · original builder left 44 days ago

Rated common mostly because: 54% chance of becoming business critical, the builder has left, €2k per year.