Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Computers in Libraries 2014 - Day 2 - Good Not Perfect!

This was a well-meaning but not particularly enlightening presentation was presented by Andrew Shaping of the Jack Tarver Library at Mercer University.  The basic point was that it is important to call projects finished, or at least ready for prime-time once they've reached a level of "good enough" rather than holding onto them until considering them perfect.  Striving for perfection is a noble goal, but as there is no clear definition of perfection for any specific project, striving for perfection can mean never completing the project or delaying the release of a project unnecessarily.  In a worst case, a fixation on perfection can make something worse, for which the presenter gave the example of the Cake Wrecks website showing cakes that people should have stopped decorating several tubs of fondant ago.

 Instead it is better to have unfinished, but functional, products out as perpetual betas (ala Google Mail) and to be willing to recognize quickly when something is not working and to discard it.

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