>>>>Sometimes the best choice is to throw everything away and start over.
>>>
>>>It's often my preferred method once I lock onto the idea the original guy didn't have a good design. It's just faster. Writing code doesn't really take very long once you know what it is you need to accomplish.
>>
>>That is 100% right. Provided that you are after real solution.
>>
>>Problem is that some times temporary consultants (or even entire inhouse dev teams) are more interested in max# number of (vaguely justifiable) billing hours (or prolonging their project/contracts) then solving problem that they are brought/paid to resolve at first place. If you have company unfortunate enough to depend on these kind of ______, then bad code is keep on piling up on top of each other into massive piles of garbage, until it all become complete madness.
>>
>>After it all fall apart, there comes someone with your approach who finally decide to cut the cr*pp and do full rewrite.
>>However not long after you are gone, there comes someone fresh off the latest tech convention, who find that your system/code is good, but not done according to the best coding practices (or latest technology) and thus in need of some major refactoring...
>>
>>And there we go again. Never ending cycle of exciting technology innovation... :))
>
>I've never come across a consultant trying to inflate their billing like that. Usually (like me I like to think) they are trying to produce the best and most cost effective solution for someone. On the other hand I have come across clients who question every hour spent as though they continually suspect me of that. Its very tiresome and I'm usually happy to see the back of them. And on the whole that sort of client gets a much worse service s my main motivation becomes get the thing deliverable and get out asap.

I have had many different types of clients as a consultant. They always had broken code for me to fix, and much of it was written by self proclaimed experts. I could write a book on that subject.

Do not do anything without a written spec. You were hired for a reason and anything additional will cost extra! “Oh gee, you fixed the problem. Could you add this functionality”? “ Oh yes, (says I) for $120 an hour”!

One funny one was a company ran an end of month report and it took 8 hours. The full time programmer was indescribable! Let us say he was a back stabbing idiot, and be nice about it. He was paid overtime to run the report, and sat there for the entire 8 hours after everyone else went home. I was asked to speed up the report, and did so. The report took 5 minutes to run and the programmer was livid! “How dare you do that! I will not use your code”.

I then fully documented the code he had written and also created diagrams of module interaction, placing it in a binder with tabs. That did it! He had had the company over a barrel for several years, as he did not have any documentation, and no one wanted to work on his “baby”. For some reason the owner listened to everything this fine fellow said. Well, says I, it is time to find a working environment more compatible with human life, and I left.

Some day I will discuss Software Quality Assurance. Many programmers and companies have no clue what that is! :)