The expression is “the enemy of good” not “the enemy if something” so in the end it’s about defining “good”. It varies with context. What’s good, move fast and break things or go slow and considerate? Is risking bugs worth it to launch a feature? How important is that feature? How important is it to have it now vs. later? And how do you reconcile it when what’s good for you is bad for me?
You're saying it in jest but this is closer to the right answer.
Features make you money. A large enough project has an infinite backlog. You will be unlikely to make much money from clearing out your backlog.
As a guy who was a part of projects with an infinitely growing backlog (multiple times), I can tell you for certain that _not_ periodically addressing parts of your backlog absolutely will stop you from making more money; even lose you some due to customer churn.
I am as close to a fan of a clear backlog as it can be, but I would also say that an insufficiently deep backlog is probably a sign that you're spending too much on refactors and cleanups.
The expression is “the enemy of good” not “the enemy if something” so in the end it’s about defining “good”. It varies with context. What’s good, move fast and break things or go slow and considerate? Is risking bugs worth it to launch a feature? How important is that feature? How important is it to have it now vs. later? And how do you reconcile it when what’s good for you is bad for me?
It's just the same about the definition of "perfect".
Fixing critical bugs is not perfectionism. Fixing low-impact bugs by making high-risk, well-intentioned changes might be.
You're saying it in jest but this is closer to the right answer. Features make you money. A large enough project has an infinite backlog. You will be unlikely to make much money from clearing out your backlog.
As a guy who was a part of projects with an infinitely growing backlog (multiple times), I can tell you for certain that _not_ periodically addressing parts of your backlog absolutely will stop you from making more money; even lose you some due to customer churn.
I am as close to a fan of a clear backlog as it can be, but I would also say that an insufficiently deep backlog is probably a sign that you're spending too much on refactors and cleanups.