What is the difference between a professional and a bureaucrat?

Question

I work as a consultant in a process improvement capacity. I am filling in for a former co-worker on a job - he left for a much higher paying job- and I am dismayed that the amount of paperwork he has put in place that doesn't have (in my opinion) much to do with actually getting work done in an efficient and effective manner.
We have Quality Plan documents and Test Plan documents and Test Case documents, all very long, with overlapping details and items that don't fit the work at hand. They all look really professional and no one at the client company appears to be questioning what he did. This has been bugging me for weeks.

Answer 1

If no one is complaining, things might not be working at their best, but they are working. Now, since you've mentioned you work in a process improvement capacity I'd encourage you to improve the processes you think are too complex. Everyone wants things as simple as possible, especially at work. If the processes there are unnecessarily complex in your view, raise that KISS (keep it short and simple) flag and start implementing your ideas.

You will be acknowledged for that, but it will take time. Though people like simple processes they're usually reluctant to change, as you probably know very well.

Good luck!