"Focus your requirements..build something that does one thing well, instead of everything never."
A noble idea, but seriously difficult to do in a government system like (for example) Universal Credit.
The problem is the fear (not the reality, the fear) of the number of interfaces between each of those "systems that does one thing well".
It doesn't help that the people who really understand how the existing systems work together (because the UK civil service is a "mature" environment IE it's got a very complex ecosystem already) are buried deep in the bureaucracy and have taken years to learn this.
And this will continue until those writing these spec realize fear is not real.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
