I know this post is way after the fact; but I hope that people can still derive some benefit from it.

I have worked at a shop where the upper management (VP) was a former JGID programmer; and most of our Business Partners (we weren't suppose to call them "Users" or "Customers") were trained to ask for solutions.

We tried for a long time to re-train the BPs into presenting their problems and letting us design the solutions; but it hadn't worked up until the point I left.

I found it very difficult to say "no" in that situation; because when we did, we were "wrong" and had to do it anyway; or we were labeled "purists" and denigrated for not living in the real world where things had to get done.

The business was pretty successful despite these drawbacks.

What do you do in a situation like that? How do you convince the BPs that there is a better way?

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