Of Walkways and Fountains

A Story

Once upon a time there was a business person who knew exactly what she wanted. So, she explained to an analyst precisely what it was that she wanted and all of the points that she wanted addressed and precisely how she wanted it addressed.  The analyst said he understood exactly what she wanted. 

So, the analyst went and assembled all the requirements and looked at everything that was spelled out. He gathered everything together. 

He found that he had some very usable information and some that was less than useable. So, he dug and dug and found the perfect item that would fit the needs the user described and make it pleasing to her.   

Then he assembled all the components and tested the product and found that it matched exactly what the user had asked for - and everything worked perfectly. The finished product was, indeed, a thing of beauty.

So, he called the user over to see the wonderful product he had made. She looked at it and said, "What is this?"

"Its what you asked for! It has everything you wanted!"

"No, this is..."

Have you ever heard of a project that matched the requirements precisely for what was needed to be included in the "finished product" only to find there was a complete mis-understanding about what the real purpose was?