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Survey Results

What’s better when coding: getting it done or doing it perfectly?

Survey period: 27 Jan 2020 to 3 Feb 2020

‘Perfect’ meaning following all the best practices with regards to coding standards, patterns, security, readability and maintainability

OptionVotes% 
Get it done as fast as possible. Time is money202.05
Get it done fast, but keep it sensible10310.55
It’s always a balance44045.08
Get it done right, but keep an eye on the hours31932.68
Do it right first time. Don’t worry so much about the time949.63



 
GeneralNone of the above Pin
Nathan Minier30-Jan-20 6:23
professionalNathan Minier30-Jan-20 6:23 
GeneralManagers claim they want sensible, but what they want is fast and somehow good Pin
honey the codewitch28-Jan-20 9:34
mvahoney the codewitch28-Jan-20 9:34 
GeneralRe: Managers claim they want sensible, but what they want is fast and somehow good Pin
cobaltsoft30-Jan-20 9:42
professionalcobaltsoft30-Jan-20 9:42 
GeneralRe: Managers claim they want sensible, but what they want is fast and somehow good Pin
honey the codewitch30-Jan-20 11:22
mvahoney the codewitch30-Jan-20 11:22 
GeneralBorrowing from da Vinci... Pin
Bruce Greene28-Jan-20 5:31
Bruce Greene28-Jan-20 5:31 
GeneralThen someone has to fix it later, using more hours Pin
MSBassSinger28-Jan-20 4:31
professionalMSBassSinger28-Jan-20 4:31 
GeneralRe: Then someone has to fix it later, using more hours Pin
Rob Philpott28-Jan-20 4:41
Rob Philpott28-Jan-20 4:41 
GeneralRe: Then someone has to fix it later, using more hours Pin
MSBassSinger28-Jan-20 5:46
professionalMSBassSinger28-Jan-20 5:46 
GeneralRe: Then someone has to fix it later, using more hours Pin
Rick Shaub28-Jan-20 10:58
Rick Shaub28-Jan-20 10:58 
GeneralRe: Then someone has to fix it later, using more hours Pin
hpcoder231-Jan-20 13:13
hpcoder231-Jan-20 13:13 
GeneralThe only sensible answer Pin
Gary Wheeler28-Jan-20 2:23
Gary Wheeler28-Jan-20 2:23 
"It's always a balance."

If you develop to perfection and simply stop when the time or money runs out, the result is incomplete.

If you develop to what you can complete within the contraints of time and money, the result is inadequate.

In neither case have you satisfied the user or customer. This survey doesn't apply to projects built for fun, where the resources are limited only by you.

You must balance the customer's needs with what you can provide given the constraints of time and money. Balance is achieved through dialogue and negotiation with them. Sometimes you find out a feature is a 'want' rather than a 'need', and can be postponed to a future effort. Other times you discover that the schedule is flexible, and they can give you that extra six weeks to finish an option, or they've got some discretionary money so that you can add more staff to the project.

This is one of those "soft skills" (like writing) that most tech folks regard with contempt, but would do well to learn. I'll freely admit I'm not nearly as good at it as I'd like.
Software Zen: delete this;

GeneralRe: The only sensible answer Pin
Slow Eddie28-Jan-20 2:56
professionalSlow Eddie28-Jan-20 2:56 
GeneralRe: The only sensible answer Pin
Gary Wheeler28-Jan-20 3:04
Gary Wheeler28-Jan-20 3:04 
GeneralRe: The only sensible answer Pin
Rick Shaub28-Jan-20 11:04
Rick Shaub28-Jan-20 11:04 
GeneralRe: The only sensible answer Pin
Gary Wheeler28-Jan-20 11:42
Gary Wheeler28-Jan-20 11:42 
GeneralRe: The only sensible answer Pin
Rick Shaub28-Jan-20 11:52
Rick Shaub28-Jan-20 11:52 
GeneralRe: The only sensible answer Pin
Rob Philpott28-Jan-20 4:00
Rob Philpott28-Jan-20 4:00 
GeneralRe: The only sensible answer Pin
Gary Wheeler28-Jan-20 4:21
Gary Wheeler28-Jan-20 4:21 
GeneralPerfection vs Overengineering Pin
Anonymee28-Jan-20 2:21
professionalAnonymee28-Jan-20 2:21 
GeneralA man would do nothing ... Pin
Amarnath S27-Jan-20 23:35
professionalAmarnath S27-Jan-20 23:35 
GeneralIt's a mix of course Pin
Dean Roddey27-Jan-20 15:28
Dean Roddey27-Jan-20 15:28 
GeneralDo it right. Pin
OriginalGriff27-Jan-20 10:52
mveOriginalGriff27-Jan-20 10:52 
GeneralRe: Do it right. Pin
agolddog28-Jan-20 2:50
agolddog28-Jan-20 2:50 
GeneralPerfection is the enemy of "good enough" Pin
Christopher Woodruff27-Jan-20 9:26
Christopher Woodruff27-Jan-20 9:26 
GeneralRe: Perfection is the enemy of "good enough" Pin
Tom Corbett Space Cadet28-Jan-20 4:59
professionalTom Corbett Space Cadet28-Jan-20 4:59 

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