Answer to: How do I push back on an impossible scope?

Oh, you're new? With utmost respect to you, I'd say you might want to quit trying to be Superman (or Supergirl), for starters. The whole conversation on killing off licenses for the third party product has predated your employment by a long, long time. It's gone way up the chain. Your manager and others have decided to take on this project, and have nailed it into the ground with the stakeholders that the things are gonna be what they're gonna be. Now, here comes you. Whether you are 100% right or not, nobody's trying to hear you because of all the promises that have already been made, and you're the FNG (NG = new guy / new girl) so the instant perception is going to be that you don't know what you're talking about. I have seen this play out SO many times. What you do right now is shut your trap. Decide how YOU are going to deal with the situation, and be effective for YOUR own sake in your OWN life. You can't save them. Allow them to carry out this course. But make boundaries and a routine for your own life so you don't get trampled when their short sightedness doesn't work out. Come in to work every day. Take ALL your breaks. Arrive on time, and leave on time. Use your vacation and PTO in reasonable fashion. Entertain yourself in your free time and make sure you have a healthy lifestyle outside of work, and something in your personal life that gives you a sense of accomplishment (as you will not get it from the job!). As you work, lean on your boss as often as is reasonable to make priorities clear, because I guarantee you there will be a point where there are ten things that folks will tell you are all priority #1. Overall, don't lose yourself in the madness. There will be shortcomings in the plans. You might document them as you observe them, but only escalate the ones that block you from doing work. Other than that, relinquish the idea of fixing an idea that was broken long before you got there. Get your money from the work you do on the job each day, and GO HOME. Heads may roll. Allow them to do so, because misplaced ambition is going to put you in the crazy house right now if you do not. Best of luck.