I get that it's risky and expensive, but I haven't seen it work better than this. The hack workaround sometimes ends up being better than the existing system, cause a rushed timeline forces everyone to be frank about what's actually needed and what they can ignore. They're also forced to pick something simple, not design an overly grand solution with tons of meetings.

The tech debt is still costly, but most of it isn't caused by lack of maintenance, more that something was designed fundamentally poorly from the start.