Well said, and the exact reason I moved away from consulting after a decade of doing it. The developers often get blamed for "not understanding how real people

Well said, and the exact reason I moved away from consulting after a decade of doing it. The developers often get blamed for "not understanding how real people use the system". Most features are requested by C level people who have never actually used the system. While consulting, I've actually been told NOT to talk to the users who will be using the system. In a large enterprise it is often about power and politics, it is rarely about building value and increasing productivity. Vote with your labor, work for a small company.