Image copyright © 2008 Melissa McKenney Creative Commons (Attribution)
Perhaps you have heard of the parable of the six blind Tuxes and the elephant. If not, perhaps you have heard the parable of the six (or five or four or three) blind men and the elephant.
The key thing to know about proprietary software is that there will often be only one blind Tux, as shown below.
Image copyright © 2008 Melissa McKenney Creative Commons (Attribution)
This guy knows he completely understands the problem, and therefore can go through a very orderly process to produce the corresponding solution.