Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.

Getting any product to market is an act composed of a series of compromises in quality, product perfection, feature-functionality, and cost effectiveness.  If every development engineer could control the release date of the component or product for which s/he is responsible, the dates for completion would certainly extend outward and vary from plan.

When there are multiple parallel developments of components to fit into the whole product, the slowest component determines the speed of completion for the final product.  One designer, one engineer, one developer seeking to achieve a degree of perfection to meet a personal level of satisfaction is capable of derailing an entire complex project.

And yet, who would not want the highest quality product to place into a competitive marketplace?  Who would not want a “better” component or product?  By its very nature, “good enough” defines the acceptable market level of quality, price, feature-functionality, and salability.   That standard certainly varies by any requirements for product safety which surmount all others.  That one standard aside, all of us must internalize the short mantra that is the subject of this insight: Better is the enemy of ‘good enough.’ 

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2 Responses to Better is the Enemy of Good Enough.

  1. Unfortunately product safety is not the only exception. Governmental regulation whether wise or not can also dictate product features, testing requirements, time spent, and therefore money needed.

  2. It is almost uncanny how closely these product development decisions apply to the recording of a musical cd.

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