Summary

Summary - What Actually Changed

Across all three parts, the same things were true:

• the users struggled
• the system was under pressure
• the team was capable
• the work was real

What changed was not effort, tooling, or professionalism.

What changed was when the team decided they were aligned.

In Part I, alignment was assumed because no one objected.
In Part II, alignment was assumed because documents existed.
In Part III, alignment was earned by making disagreement visible early.

The first two approaches felt faster. They were also wrong.

The third approach felt slow, awkward, and boring. It worked.

This case study is not about better meetings or better specs. It’s about recognising that shared language is not shared understanding - and that moving forward without it is not progress, it’s momentum.

If the final version felt dull compared to the others, that’s intentional.

That’s what clarity sounds like.