[rizz0]

>So essentially, the company gets version 2 of the code, at the cost of 1x user time + 1x developer time. Instead of version 2 of the code, in 2x developer time, which is too expensive and never happens.

Not sure why, but in my experience the difference has been closer to 1x user time + 1x developer time <> 4x developer time.

I believe empowering a customer to think along — be pushed to their limits, even — within the boundaries of a system's technical/business domain _from the very start_ is likely to dramatically improve a system's design.

From a technical perspective it may not be architected well, but in terms of user <> business fit it probably will be.