Sunday, October 22, 2006

Sometimes 80% isn't good enough

In some cases, as I've mused in earlier posts, 80 percent represents a "good enough" result, all else considered.

Of course, there are whole classes of situations where it's certainly not good enough -- particularly where life, limb and health are concerned; but also where intrinsic accuracy and/or great expense is involved (space exploration, for one) . In such cases, "absolute perfection" and "zero defects" is the only acceptable objective.

Stephen Manes writing for Forbes talks presents another perspective in Good Enough Isn't ...
Tech products ought to work as reliably as refrigerators--the old ones--instead of saddling us with their "good enough" shortcomings. Consumers are right to mistrust the tech world's frequent knee-jerk response that highly reliable products are simply too much to ask for.