"Perfection is the enemy of Good" quote in book

[Junilu Lacar]

Chris,

I don't know why these things seem to happen to me all the time but I was watching the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" last night on NetFlix and the Japanese term shokunin caught my attention. From what I could gather, it's used to refer to someone who is very skilled at their chosen craft and Jiro, the octogenarian master sushi maker who is the subject of the film, is considered as one. Jiro talks about striving for perfection, which to me is not a bad thing. However, I do get where you're coming from with the quote in your book. When it comes to software development, you have to balance that drive for perfection with pragmatism. It has taken me a while to accept the fact that I will almost always have to settle for "good enough" when it comes to code quality.

I guess my question to you is, have you ever watched that film and if so, what are your thoughts when you compare Jiro's attitude towards his creations and your attitude toward software quality?

I really enjoyed the movie and I'm considering buying it for myself for Christmas so I can watch it once in a while and get some comfort and wisdom from the things that Jiro says in it. See "three Michelin star Jiro in Ginza" for more about this remarkable chef. One thing that struck me is his focus on simplicity, minimalism, and diligent preparation and execution. To me, this is not unlike what I do when I practice TDD and refactoring.

[Bear Bibeault]

To me it's an art called "engineering". The skill is in knowing when "good enough" really is good enough versus when we've entered the realm of diminishing returns. It's actually not an easy balance.

[Junilu Lacar]

Bear Bibeault wrote:The skill is in knowing when "good enough" really is good enough versus when we've entered the realm of diminishing returns. It's actually not an easy balance.

Yes, my first inkling of that concept, and one I think is the easiest to grasp, is that of not needing to have 100% coverage with your unit tests. About 85% is a "good enough" target for coverage. The effort you have to put into getting that remaining 15% coverage is usually not worth it.

[Chris Birchall]

Junilu, it might interest you to know that I live in Tokyo. Unfortunately I can't afford to eat at Jiro, but I've met my fair share of shokunin

[Junilu Lacar]

Yes, Chris, the "About the Author" blurb on the book's MEAP page mentions that you work for M3 in Tokyo.

I too would balk at paying JPY 35,000 (almost US$300 ) after waiting a month (that's how far ahead you have to make reservations) to eat a single meal of sushi. However, if I were to put anything related to food on my bucket list, this would be the one.

My claim to Japanese culture is that I practice Aikido. There are many similar concepts in that art and the things that we do as developers. Sushi, Aiki-budo, and software development. Who would have thought that they have so many basic similarities?