Rick,

Kevin Goff liked to complain about that ACA website disaster. But when you look at what happened, with countless millions spent on modern development processes delivering a comprehensive fail that was resolved by 2 old fashioned geeks in a single weekend- then IMHO it seems that modern development has completely lost its way.

Certainly expected software developer capability and productivity 15 years ago, was greater than it is now. This is opposite the direction taken by every other computerized/automated role I can think of.

E.g. check out the BMW factories in Germany where computers and automation allows a handful of white coated geeks to oversee long ranks of robots building vehicles, with little if any human intervention until the final steps. IMHO software development was more similar to this when VFP was at its greatest when somebody with niche expertise could make it all happen. Whereas these days in development, the factories are filled not by robots but by teams of humans spending half their time negotiating interactions between themselves and welcoming each round of Rube Goldberg change that permits fascinating panel redesigns, eventually delivering a single vehicle for a few million dollars. If you're lucky. It's as if the Panasonic pbxes of the 1990s were replaced not by Asterisk linux devices, but by rooms full of telephone operators... whose console alterations are the subject of several fascinating conferences per year to discuss the constantly changing intricacies that have telephonists heartily agreeing that it's much better today than it ever was before! Hoorah for technology!