Just One More Feature – Please!
Very often, when we are in the final stages of wrapping up a new product, we become so close to the task that we miss the big picture. The temptation to add one more feature or improvement is almost irresistible.
This can also have huge negative consequences.
During World War II my father served in the Quartermasters Corps of the U. S. Army. His stories of the war tended to center around cocktail parties in Washington, but a few cautionary tales survived the rigor of wartime in the capital.
One was about the pitons used by the mountain troops. Apparently the piton manufacturer and the Army were quite proud of the work done behind enemy lines by troops using these pitons. They agreed to stamp “US” on each piton.
Tragically, the pitons began failing in the field. Eventually they discovered that the stamping compromised the piton.
Repeat after me – “Perfection is the enemy of good.”