Let's not forget that the developers of the system are potentially handing the system over to another party for O&M, didn't have flexibility in choosing what so

Let's not forget that the developers of the system are potentially handing the system over to another party for O&M, didn't have flexibility in choosing what software to use, didn't get to prioritize the requirements and blue buttons were equal with system stability. They may have even had a separate contract do the design spec, and IV&V. The diffusion of responsibility combined with the rigidity of the procurement process is such that it is often impossible to achieve the flexibility needed to devise an optimal solution.