Legacy systems... They're not all bad, but I've dealt with one that was a constant source of frustration. It needed replaced, but we had a small team. Replacing it would have set us up with the ability to deliver more quickly and with fewer bugs. Doing so would have made it possible to pursue more growth opportunities more quickly, but it would take two years to fully replace it which would mean that critical growth initiatives would be delayed while we worked on replacing it. It really needed to go before it failed, but it wasn't right for growth "right now" if that makes sense.
I came up with an acronym for whenever we had issues with the system:
- Built - As - Designed
Not everything Built As Designed is bad, but we needed a little humor to deal with the system, day in and day out.
An important lesson we learned is that growth is more than quick wins. Short-term growth is important, and sometimes critical, but it's not more important than long-term, sustainable growth. Both need to be considered. Saving Changes...
Project Manager| AWR Development (BD) Ltd. Cox's Bazer , Bangladesh
Interesting question. In many organizations, I’ve seen heavy approval layers and rigid governance processes that ensure control and compliance—but at the same time slow down innovation and responsiveness. They’re not “broken,” as you said—they’re designed for stability. The real challenge is finding the balance where governance protects the organization without limiting growth and agility. Saving Changes...
Program Manager| HARPER SRLSanto Domingo / Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic
One example I’ve seen is heavy approval layers. They’re there for control and compliance, and they do help reduce risk, but they also slow down decisions and limit responsiveness.
They’re not wrong, just designed for stability. The challenge is finding a balance so they don’t become a barrier to progress. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
First of all we need to take care about the use or terms. System is the whole organization. While I am not saying that this is the case unfortunately the word system is used as a synonym of software system. Because of that, process are part of the system. Process are the way organizations respond to environmental stimuli. That´s strategy. If something is not part of the strategy then it has no sense to exists because strategy is what helps organization to survive, growth and develop. Saving Changes...
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