As a member of a software team, you’ve likely heard something like this before:
“Oh you don’t have X% code coverage?!” or “You don’t have an up-to-date persona?!” or “You haven’t done [INSERT INDUSTRY THING DU JOUR HERE]?!”
The trouble here isn’t the question. The trouble is the implied assumption that not having those things is a measure of the quality of your software, or worse the software team.
Recently our good buddy, Doc Norton had an intriguing post on Twitter (and also LinkedIn for all the #boomers).
Test coverage is not a measure of quality, but having test coverage is an indicator of quality.
So many people in the software industry today think that simply checking all the right boxes results in high-quality software.
If you’ve been doing this long enough, then you know that simply isn’t true.
If you’ve been doing this long enough, then you know that sometimes doing everything the way you were taught to do isn’t practical or simply isn’t necessary.
If you’ve been doing this long enough, then you have learned why these things are important, but you have also learned when it’s time to assume some risks and just move forward.
If you’ve been doing this long enough, then you’ve learned to be pragmatic and to not let perfect get in the way of the good enough.
Topics:
• 04:15 – Doc’s Quote
• 05:15 – Going through the process forces us to think about the whole
• 06:29 – How does this apply to UX?
• 09:04 – Simply ticking the boxes doesn’t make your software good
• 09:25 – The context and the situation are important
• 09:41 – The best code is not needing any code (or Double Dragon II)
• 10:49 – Beware the dark side of an indicator – the stereotype
• 12:22 – How do we avoid this pitfall?
• 14:24 – Don’t let perfect get in the way of the good enough
• 15:18 – It’s about knowing when to assume the risk
• 16:22 – If someone blanketly says something is good or bad, they probably don’t know
• 16:36 – Know when enough is enough
• 22:36 – Learn the rules before you break the rules
Helpful Links:
• Doc on LinkedIn if you’re not into Twitter
• Doc on Twitter if you’re not into LinkedIn
• 53. Great Scott!!! An interview with Doc Norton
—–
Thanks for listening! We hope you enjoyed today’s episode. If you liked what you heard, be sure to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! If you enjoyed today’s episode, please leave a comment and a five-star review. It helps us out a ton.
If you haven’t already, sign up for our email list. We won’t spam you. Pinky swear.
• Check out our website
• Follow us on twitter
• Find us on Facebook
• Subscribe on Google Podcasts
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify
• Subscribe on Stitcher
Episode thumbnail by Bekir Dönmez on Unsplash