Tom,

Actually, it's been my experience that when people don't admit a failure upfront when they had a chance to, and then people find out about it, or come to that conclusion later, that's when I have seen people get fired. It's been my experience that when a software product fails or does not deliver the functionality or performance needed for the organization, then the appropriate research and homework was not done in the first place. Many times, it just comes down to laziness, or just not investing the legwork and time it takes to find out if the product is a good fit for your organization. I have definitely seen others try and cover that up..:-D