This reminds me of a story. Years back, when I worked in Oceanographic research, we needed to "do something" about the data logger that we used on our Oceanographic moorings (buoys). The existing one was workable, although antiquated - but the core problem was that we had lost several of them and if we lost any more it was going to start impacting the science. In addition, there was a new controller under development, but it was literally years away from being available for general deployments (Academic time schedule). So I called a meeting, and laid out the options.
1) Make more of the existing design. Sub-optimal as it had been patched and upgraded over the years, so all those patches, blue wires, etc, etc would have to be done to each board.
2) Do a cleanup revision of the existing design. Workable.
3) Create an all new design that would be vastly better than the existing, but not as all encompassing as the existing controller project.
After discussion, I was asked what I needed for resources for option #3. I told them - this hardware guy, this software guy, myself, and 90 days with nobody in our fucking way. No interminable meetings, minimal design reviews, and stay out of our road.
They looked at me like I had 3 heads. "How can you do that that fast?". I explained that 60 days was an industry norm, and 30 was a fast track, so 90 shouldn't be a problem. They gave it to me - and we got it done. It ended up taking 120 days as it was over the Xmas holidays AND I was out of the country for six weeks during the whole thing.
Afterwards, the Engineering manager came to me and wanted me to do a write-up as to why this worked so well. I told him I wasn't going to write ANYTHING down, but I'd tell him verbally: We side stepped the whole academia approach, got mgmt to agree to stay out of our hair, didn't have ever-moving goalposts, an absolute minimum of meetings, and had 3 people that knew what needed to be done and got it done. He told me "You're right - I can't tell that to management!"
That was back in Y2K. The controller we created is STILL in use, and the new one that was under development has come - and gone.
