[sheepmullet]

> This is interesting, because you're ignoring the fact that the author worked in this exact business for some time and claims that it did once work and doesn't anymore.

Reading between the lines, it "worked" because it was an incredibly high margin business and so when a project wasn't on track they could simply throw many more developers into the mix to get it over the line.

> Either he was deluded at the time and overcame his delusion without ever realizing he was deluded

Or I suspect they simply have a different idea of "worked".

I suspect the OP means was better (I.e. Cheaper, quicker, or of a higher quality) than an internal team could do. Whereas I suspect the writer meant he could keep clients reasonably happy and deliver ok software.