My Most Expensive Engineering Decision

Short summary

An engineer recounts choosing to fix and modernize a legacy ERP system while running it, rather than rewriting from scratch, to meet budget and timeline constraints. The decision led to cascading problems and exceeded budgets. The key lesson: sustainable engineering requires long-term thinking, not just pursuing 'doable' solutions; sometimes saying 'no' is more valuable than saying 'yes.'

• •The decision to patch rather than rewrite seemed cost-effective but created long-term problems and technical debt
• •Quick fixes often mask root causes and accumulate complexity rather than solving underlying issues
• •True engineering requires balancing constraints with long-term sustainability and having courage to reject suboptimal solutions

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