The development team that I'm a member of has recently adapted to work according to Agile practices. This has personally highlighted the fact that I can't stop myself gold-plating code (and documentation) and I consequently exceed original estimates, when I could've delivered solutions that meet the requirements much earlier.I think my ethic is bordering on the obsessive in that I become too attached to my code and am rarely content to release before I've refactored and perfected it to the nth degree. I am happy that I have realised this but how can I change my attitude/mentality to be content with my progress and release on-time instead?
How to stop gold-plating and just be content to release working developments
agile;programming practices;productivity;development process;scrum
The best is the enemy of good enough.You can always do more testing, write better documentation, ferret out those corner cases, fill in what you think are missing features, make the architecture cleaner. It's never ending. However, it has to end. There are due dates that have to be met, external constraints that depend on your part of the product being finished. Striving for perfection in one small part of a product hurts the product as a whole.