Ben Roy

There's something about getting a project buttoned up and out the door that's just not easy. What is it they say? The last 10% of the work takes 90% of the effort? While the exact numbers might be off, the idea seems pretty sound.

There's a related idea when it comes to quality of software, or quality of the design of the software, which says that the last 10% of getting to perfect is much more work than the first 90%. In other words, just because you can get something built 'pretty well' on the cheap doesn't mean that you can get all the way there for just a bit more.

Countless hours can go by without making any real progress. Or worse, you actually knock out a problem only to realize that you created a new one.

Especially for developers, it can be hard to call something good enough and move on. But the reality is that most of the time good enough is just that.

If you are in a situation where you have a customer or business user that you're responsible to, you have to make good decisions about when to push for more time or budget to accomplish that last 10%. If you are never able to call something good enough, you're going to be battled at every turn. You may end up losing out when it matters most, and be forced to settle on a critical item.

If instead you get in the habit of identifying when it's ok to come up short of perfect, your customer will respect your assertion that feature X or project Y deserves to be taken that last mile. Save your capital to spend on the projects that matter most.

On the other hand, if you're in business for yourself, the problem is even worse. Your 'boss' may indulge you every time, never forcing you to leave anything in a good enough state and move on. What does that mean for your business? Paralysis, slow time-to-market, huge opportunity cost, and ultimately, decreased success.

Be realistic about when something is good enough. Don't comprimise when it matters, but focus on consciously deciding when to cross that boundary into the last 10% of perfection. Resist the urge to chase down every last detail on every project. Your business and your customers will thank you.