The October 2009 edition of “Shop Talk: A Nightmare Before Halloween” took a somewhat cavalier look back at a project my company was involved in that went very wrong. My intent was to amuse as well as illustrate, and in doing so, I was unfair to the client involved. My article prompted a thoughtful reply from the key client-side manager. The response, which makes several good points that are absent from my article, is quoted extensively below.

This Client's Nightmare

In his own words: It all began in the year 2000, when the country struggled with dangling chads and you could keep on your shoes at airport security. Insurers were downright desperate to cast Y2K aside and jump on the Internet. The cost-benefit analysis for system replacement was contained in the word survival. The company I worked for hired one consultant to help guide the RFP process, then another to audit the result. Each endorsed our process and our selection after we executed the advice they provided.