[chunkymilk]

My last place also called it promotion-driven-devevlopment.

It got to the point where some dude built a system that completely floundered but got him a promotion. He then re-wrote it so it sucked slightly less and got another promotion. Last I heard he was working on v3.

Never mind that someone with actual domain knowledge would have either not built the system (since it didn't _really_ need to exist) or would have built a much simpler/more reliable system to get the job done.

[its-summertime]

He did it like that because thats what he was asked to do, metrics-wise

His boss is happy with it because it looks good for him too

The company is happy because it allows them to sell milestones to themselves and or customers.

Customers are happy because the sales-people took the right person out to a fancy dinner.

I don't feel like I could fault anyone acting their part in the play.

[chunkymilk]

Can't disagree. He's was doing what the incentives in place said he should be doing.

I would find it boring/tedious to keep rebuilding the same thing since I'm more of a solve the problem, operationalize the solution, then move on person.

[hansvm]

Ah, but he "de-risked" the project by getting it out the door quickly, he started "delivering immediate value" despite the rough edges, and "has the technical acumen to optimize it further."

[dbalatero]

I got downleveled in a job offer recently after being interviewed about a project which I labored to make as simple and efficient as possible. They said after careful evaluation, the project wasn't technical enough to merit the title I wanted. Live and learn!