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Adding to the discussion about the article, Isenberg writes,

One thing the article missed was the precursor telco mentality about legacy software. When I was at AT&T (in the consumer LD unit), every year we'd look at the patch-on-a-bandage-on-a-scab-on-a-festering-wound legacy software and say, "Shouldn't we re-write the whole system with modern software methods?" And every year we'd study it. And every year, we'd say it'd cost $X and take Y months. And every year, Senior Management would ask what it'd cost to put another band-aid on the patch-on-the-bandage-on-the-scab . . . and we'd say 1/10th of the cost and 1/10th of the time, and the resulting decision was a no-brainer. The system never was rewritten the way it shoulda been. Into this mess add number portability -- or any moderate change at time-certain -- and stir until chaos emerges.

As always, nothing matters more than delivering product as quickly as possible, as cheaply as possible.

And, he also pulls out this little gem about Mr. Motivator from the comments to the article:

The on-line article is augmented by dozens of pithy comments from ex-AT&T Wireless employees. For example, apparently CIO Chris Corrado had his new Ferrari delivered to the AT&T Wireless parking lot on pink-slip day.