[gonational]

Dealing with this exact scenario, right now. My company has implemented an unnecessarily complex spiderweb of services and the litany of problems that go along with it, in anticipation of some hypothetical, future requirements. Most of the team is fairly new, but they have been led astray by a mid-level engineer who has been masquerading as a top level engineer. By the time I came along, the damage was already done, and the rest of the team is unaware that they have developed about 60 days worth of software, mostly code debt, in more than 18 months.

The situation is extremely frustrating, because I have to be careful not to insult anyone or create endless arguments, while trying to somehow salvage the project into something workable, or convince a team of junior/mid-level engineers to start over (the code is technically not salvageable, at all). Trying to convince people who don't know what they're doing that the same end result could be reproduced in 45 days and then the next 18 months of effort could be condensed into an additional 45 days is like trying to convince an octopus that there are satellites in orbit around the Earth.