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"Good enough" is not good enough!

This week I came across a discussion [regarding test design] in which a tester wrote, "…the main goal is having something that is 'good enough'." Every time I hear a tester utter the phrase "good enough" my head wants to explode!

Wrapping duct tape around a splint on the broken handle on my hoe is good enough to finish the job until I can go buy a new handle. While I may sometimes temporarily improvise a "good enough" solution; I am never truly satisfied with good enough, and I personally aspire to be better than good enough. My father always told me if something was worth doing, I should do it right! He also raised me to always put forth my best effort, and constantly strive to improve myself.

I seriously can't think of any professional (in any discipline) who seriously considers good enough to ever really be good enough? The "good enough" argument is the ultimate cop out! In my opinion "good enough" epitomizes an unprofessional, apathetic attitude sanctioning mediocrity.

From a job performance perspective I suspect that if we told our employers that we were going to simply design and execute tests that are "good enough" we probably wouldn't be in a job very long. I certainly would not want people on my team who are satisfied with "good enough;" I want people who want to do their best, and to strive for better!

I spent some time in the US Air Force and we often used the phrase "it's good enough for government work" to describe slop-shoddy work. So, it amazes me that some people seem to be satisfied by consciously condoning ignominious practices. But, I guess some people are taught to expend just enough effort to be good enough!

In my opinion, good enough may be "good enough for government work" or for individuals who don't have a vested interested in helping organizations improve, or who don't really care about improving themselves; but, there is no room for the slovenly "good enough" mentality among professional testers.

Published Friday, April 17, 2009 10:02 PM by I.M.Testy

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Friday, April 17, 2009 5:22 PM by “Good enough” is not good enough! | ASP NET Hosting

# re: "Good enough" is not good enough!

"I seriously can't think of any professional (in any discipline) who seriously considers good enough to ever really be good enough?"

On the contrary - every profession operates exactly this way.  Otherwise, the job is never done.

There is always one more test you could run.

The secret to "good enough" is to know where to set that bar.  That is always where your professional experience, and a deep understanding of the needs of the stakeholders must come into play.

It's good to strive for "better".  But if you don't understand when you get to "good enough", then you may never be done.

Sunday, April 19, 2009 11:31 AM by strazzerj

# re: "Good enough" is not good enough!

Hi Joe,

I don't know about you, but personally I wouldn't be too comfortable to hear a surgeon say, "don't worry, I've done this plenty of times and I've always done a good enough job." I also wouldn't be too satisfied with my favorite sports team if they said "we're good enough, so we don't need to practice or try to get better."

I agree we must be able to understand when a job is finished. But, knowing when to finish a job is different than striving to continually to improve and consciously not being satisfied with a "good enough" job.

In the context of software testing, finishing a job is usually based upon a scheduled delivery date and attempting to achieve or exceed the specific goals or requirements that satisfy our primary target customers value for that release.

However, the context of the discussion I referred to regarded test automation. Perhaps I should have been clearer on the context, but I in my opinion amateurs strive for good enough; professionals are rarely satisfied with good enough and proactively seek ways to continually improve all aspects of their game.

Monday, April 20, 2009 2:24 AM by I.M.Testy

# re: "Good enough" is not good enough!

I suspect we are mostly in agreement here, and just applying different connotations to the terms.

There's certainly a difference between what one says, and what one actually does.

No, a surgeon or sports team might not use the words "good enough".  (Sports teams often use the silly phrase "giving 110%").  But at some point, their work must indeed be good enough, or they cannot stop and deliver actual results.

If you seek perfection, then you never get done.  I have seen far too many testers/QAers who can't seem to come to grips with a release schedule, and meet the real needs of the business.

Continual improvement is great.  Always stiving for better is great.  Delivering more than is expected is great.

I agree that some folks (not always amateurs) use the term "good enough" to mean "do a half-assed job, then go home early".

I use the term "good enough" more to mean "knowing how to deliver the level of value appropriate to the situation, without wasting my company's time and money chasing non-existent perfection".  I suspect that's how most professionals act.

Monday, April 20, 2009 8:08 AM by strazzerj

# re: "Good enough" is not good enough!

BJ,

The word "good enough" is often "misunderstood" as lazy or shoddy work. Good enough has a reference which is not often probed. Good enough is alwys in relation to some historical reference level. This could be personal or group or organization level. So good enough" can not be termed as good or bad unless you know about that reference.

Then there is economics of cost and benefit. No matter how perfectionist a professional is, at some point of time he/she has to face the ultimate reality of some one deciding how much perfection (or desire for it) is good enough.

Taking a stand of "good enough vs endless desire for perfection" can NOT be always termed as "bad". Most of the time, "good enough" is decided by the consumer of the service so there is a relative scale for Good enough.

So it is not about any individual's view or strive to achieve "perfection" instead of "good enough" it is about how individual value system, commitment and aspirations fit into overall social/economical/financial framework of work to be delivered.

Leave alone amateurs, even professionals need to be aware of constraints of cost-value equation - should learn to adapt to holistic view, which might require a scale-up or down of their personal "perfection" scale.

Last but not least, professional should not confuse continuously learning and improving their work and skill to appling good enough" approach as business (cost-benefit) needs.

Former is passion while later is business prudence and adptability.

A professional needs both.

Shrini

Monday, April 20, 2009 8:55 AM by Shrini

# re: "Good enough" is not good enough!

Hi Joe,

Yes, I do think we agree. Your statement "Continual improvement is great.  Always stiving for better is great.  Delivering more than is expected is great" is spot on and captures the essence of my post.

I also agree it is important for us to understand knowing when we reach our desired goals for a particular software release.

Perhaps one difference in our perspectives is at MS we really don't view our software as ever being "finished." After each release (and sometimes after each major development milestone; or sprint for you agilists out there) we have a post-mortem (retrospective for the PC crowd) to discuss the things that went well (so we can capitalize on them to improve furthr) and the the things that didn't go so well (so we can find solutions to those issues and try to improve in those areas). So, while we have major deliveries of our products we also realize software is constantly evolving as it must in order to satisfy the growing needs of our ever increasing population of customers.

I separate the logical business decisions of shipping software from the mental attitude of how I am going to design, develop, and test software.

Monday, April 20, 2009 2:44 PM by I.M.Testy

# re: "Good enough" is not good enough!

Hi Shrini,

Perfection is an idealistic state which is why I didn't say we should strive for perfection.

The denotation of the adjectival phrase "good enough" is "adequate for the cirucumstance." However, the prevailing connotation is shoddy work, or a temporary solution (e.g. "good enough for now").

Making the hard decisions to ship software with known issues outstanding is a business proposition. Saying "let's ship this, or let's do such and such because "it's good enough" is an attitude.

I have been in a lot of ship room meetings and I have never heard the manager responsible for making those business decsions say "it's good enough...let's ship it."

Also, I don't suspect a person would be hired if they told their prospective employer "you should hire me because my work is always 'good enough'."

But, this post was not intended to be a myopic discussion that somehow tries to equate the concept of 'good enough' to the difficult task of making hard business decisions to ship software (in a finite world).    

This post was intended to rebuke the 'good enough' mental attitude  in general (which implies satisfactory results), and provoke an attitude towards greater personal responsibility and self-improvement.

Monday, April 20, 2009 3:32 PM by I.M.Testy

# re: "Good enough" is not good enough!

"However, the prevailing connotation is shoddy work, or a temporary solution (e.g. "good enough for now")."

I tend to disagree.  You are making an argument that relies on your own, localized semantic interpretation of the phrase "good enough".  This is dangerous, because you assume a global context exists where it does not.  

In my opinion,"good enough" is where the ideal of what you COULD do, irrespective of time and budget constraints, and the reality of what you HAVE done are close enough that the gap between them does not introduce any unreasonable risks to the business goals the software is supporting.  As was stated previously, knowing where to set the bar is everything, and that is largely dependent on the individual circumstances of the software under test.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 4:40 PM by svicious22

# re: "Good enough" is not good enough!

Hi Svicious22,

I am not sure my argument is really all that localized, and it certainly is not my own interpretation, and it has been around for at least 4 decades or so because I first heard it used in the implied connotation as a young boy.

It seems the arguments to my post are all myopically focused on making logical business trade-offs in typically schedule driven enivronment. And, as I agreed with Joe, knowing where to set the bar sometimes differentiates the success of software.

But, constantly rehashing the single-minded, tired argument of relating the concept of "good enough" to the logical, and rational business decisions necessary to ship software is simply getting old.

As I said, this post was really about personal responsibility and self-improvement. Personally, I am never satisifed with 'good enough (even when I have to make hard business decisions) and always look for opportunities to improve both professionally and personally. But, I find it oddly interesting that many people are very passionate and satisfied with a 'good enough' attitude. Curious???

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 8:06 PM by I.M.Testy
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