I think this thinking is what got them into a mess. Sure it sounds like a great idea to create a framework, but for a one-off project it just doesn't make sens

I think this thinking is what got them into a mess. Sure it sounds like a great idea to create a framework, but for a one-off project it just doesn't make sense. I think you would be much better off in that scenario trying to build great components that are well defined and contained. This would enable you to re-use them in future projects, or when you build your framework later at some point.