Why Workarounds Happen

Moreover, since the last system change or upgrade resulted in the current layer of workarounds and inefficiencies, the new system will similarly have to be modified to remain consistent with the only way to "get anything done around here". This task is accomplished by employees consuming significant company time without management knowledge, inevitably accompanied by much grumbling also not overheard by management. Without a fresh look, the Law of Diminishing Returns will doubtless reapply, and the desire for a better system will again raise its head.

All of this, naturally, is independent of:

1. Any true understanding of the essential work to be done regardless of how workarounds enable a facsimile of that work to get done anyway
2. Any optimization of the new system's capabilities and features to enable it to operate as efficiently as possible.

Equally important is that, after a while, the workarounds become indistinguishable (by the workers, at least) from official work procedures designed to get the work done, which leads to "We've always done it this way because that's the way it's supposed to be done," and besides, "it's the only way we know how to do it."

Compounding the issue is the fact that, in today's downsized, experienced-workers-go-first environment, the entire departmental collective history may not be that long. That means, in other words, that no one still working may actually understand what the tasks being performed were originally designed to accomplish.