Thoughts from a Vacuum

University administrative systems, like the legacy ones we have here, are complex, highly integrated programs with layers of back-end processes. Registration must tie into several databases - it must tie into who is eligible for a certain class, the number of seats available - and it must work simultaneously so that two people don't book the same last seat in a given classroom. Every couple of years some genius decides that a new enterprise program can just be done by students as part of a class project. They are clueless. Completely clueless.... and I guess it is my fault. I really ought to do a better job of educating the public (our users) about what goes into an enterprise system. There are no easy fixes. A specific program does not exist by itself. It has to be able to seamlessly integrate into the vast labyrinth of existing enterprise systems. Getting code to talk to code is not a project for students. Too much is at stake.