Systems integration is one of those problems that is new every time because every environment is different. Sure patterns arise and sometimes they can be cut/pa

Systems integration is one of those problems that is new every time because every environment is different. Sure patterns arise and sometimes they can be cut/pasted between organizations but most of the time there is just enough difference to make it a huge risk. I have written at least a dozen integrations between SAP and commodity trading platforms and the mantra DRY doesn’t really apply. You start over from scratch each time. Sure I know more about the quirks of the various systems but just because it works at the last place doesn’t mean it works now. All of these systems are moving targets as well at various version/patch levels so the best way to estimate projects of this nature is to take a conservative estimate and double it. Then add 50%.