Tarred With the Brush of Excellence

I note a widespread aversion to the idea of “doing things properly”. Not just in the software industry, but also in wider society.

I’m not going to define what “properly” for software development looks like – although I have done so at length in my latest book “Quintessence”.

It’s as if people associate excellence (doing things properly) with higher costs, more effort, and a likely higher boredom factor. 

Whence these associations, I wonder? In my mind, doing things properly implies lower costs, less effort, and more joy in the doing. If not, then how could we describe it as “properly”?

How about you? What’s you take on folks’ responses to “excellence” and the idea of doing things properly?

– Bob

Further Reading

Peters, T.J. and Waterman, R.H. (1982). In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-run Companies.  Profile Books.

Marshall, R.W. (2021). Quintessence: An Acme for Software Development Organisations. Falling Blossoms (LeanPub).