They're replacing the existing system because the interaction of programmers and users made an unusable system that didn't account for the business needs. Unfor

They're replacing the existing system because the interaction of programmers and users made an unusable system that didn't account for the business needs. Unfortunately, the people in control of the pursestrings don't have the same day-to-day perspective of the people actually using the system. I've seen documented processes be completely divorced from reality. The real challenge in these systems is uncovering the true business, and the true business isn't understood except as a collective. It is challenging to tell a director that they don't understand their own business, however. I've worked in a lot of internal IT shops throughout my career, and it is only recently that I've worked on B2C applications. That's why I explicitly say that replacing an existing system requires more iteration, not less. How many times have you seen a user exploit a bug to get their work done and be angry when it's "fixed?" The real bug is that the business didn't understand their own process. My job, when I was in internal applications, was to cut through the bullshit and really understand how the business was run. And anyone who thinks they can analyze the problem up front and give a precise estimate for how long it will take is delusional.