New here - building TerrainPlot, mostly here to learn

Hi all, Vance Grissom. I'm a software guy, not a surveyor, and I founded TerrainPlot - so you know exactly where I'm coming from.

I've spent the last couple of years building alongside surveyors on the front-end grind: plotting deeds, redrawing recorded plats, making QA/QC easier before anything hits the PLS's desk. My whole premise is that surveying is a decision-making discipline and software should never make the judgement calls, but it can make things easier by keeping every call linked to its source document and letting you analyze the same data from different angles.

I'm here to learn where the real headaches are - and honestly, to get told where software people get this work wrong. I'd rather hear it straight. Not here to spam anyone; if I ever drift salesy, call it and I'll knock it off.

To kick things off with a real question: when a job lands on your desk with a messy record - conflicting deeds, a 60-year-old plat, the works - what's the step that eats the most hours before anyone goes to the field? I have my guesses from the offices I've sat in, but I'd rather hear yours.