The web changes everything. Now that so much software is offered for free, the cost barrier for switching vendors is gone. Consequently, high quality is even more important when the barrier to switching vendors is nearly zero. Many times, quality is more important to your customers than new features.

It’s suggested that the web has changed everything. Whatever requirements there were for delivering desktop applications, the requirements for delivering web applications has changed. For the web, the thinking goes; delivery of new features to customers is paramount to remain competitive. Maybe it’s true, but what’s the evidence? My own experience with popular web sites does not support this conclusion.

David Starr argues that Agile doesn’t work because business operations aren’t Agile, and his remedy is to have Agile business practices that embrace change: “Embrace continuous integration of the enterprise.” Customers don’t want continuous change; they want a great product the first time they purchase it, so they can spend more time serving their customers and invest more money on other important needs. While your product delivery is most important to you and your company, it’s likely not the most important need for your customer. Agile simply solves the wrong problem.

They said it wouldn’t happen again, but it did.  The American auto industry wouldn’t be caught unprepared again when another energy crisis were to hit the economy. Sure, consumers were all too complicit by indulging …

In the business of product development striking the proper balance between present requirements and anticipating future needs is an art, requiring a mixture of experience, talent, knowledge, and vision. It’s essentially a function of leadership, leadership that seeks council and then decides. Those leaders who strike the right balance win and secure longevity in the marketplace. Those leaders who wrongly favor the present are doomed to a regrettable future since opportunity is realized when good decisions about the future are made in the present.

Change is often good; change is often necessary but only when we understand the value and the consequences of change, can we make good decisions about change.

People who advocate good enough contrast it with perfection, but there is another choice: excellence. Choose to build an excellent product. Choose to build the best product. Not only will it be good for the bottom line, you will find that you are attracting the best talent in the industry. Moral is high when individuals and teams are aiming high. The best talent doesn’t aim to be good enough; they aim to be the best. Aim to be good enough, and those who aim for excellence will leave your company and your products in the dust.