Our networks don't always work so well
Editors at Daily Kos point out the difficulty involved in launching any major web service, much less something as massive and complex as Healthcare.gov:
The second point is these networks are complex. In some cases it’s simply not possible to test them short of going live and there’s no upper limit to how much can be spent on test-simulations of questionable value. To use a physical analogy, a specific subway car or tunnel can certainly be tested. But the only practical way to learn how an entire subway network in a large city that is in turn plugged into a larger and more diverse transportation grid made of pedestrians on sidewalks, roads and highways, cabs, buses, airports, ferries, ports, and several million personal vehicles, all powered by giant fossil fuel distribution networks and regional electric power grids will behave at rush hour is to open it up for business and see what happens.
The editors go on to point out three examples of successful online services, all having shaky roll outs.
In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a major website go live without a “Beta” tag, or a staggered rollout. Healthcare.gov had no such luxury. It went live, people came flooding in, and the walls came crashing down.