What I want to write about today is the power and misery of "Deadlines". Originally I always hated Deadlines since I rather enjoy working without time pressure. A good product needs time and care. Since I work more and more on my own projects though I feel I need timelimits because otherwise projects tend to drag on or won't get done if it's not an important project.
"Deadlines - 165/365" by tranchis (via flickr)
I had two projects this year I got out of the door in almost no time because I set myself a tight deadline after I felt that my motivation to finish off the project was slipping away. The deadlines worked. With both projects I had to face a few bugs though shortly after release. The first version of our game Gem Hunt had issues with GameCenter and my new site which is hosted on my own server went offline for a few hours.
In both cases I could sort out the issues and everything was fine shortly after.
Still, it's not the best impression people get of your product is it?
Still, it's not the best impression people get of your product is it?
Conclusion
The lesson I think I should learn here is that a tight schedule can increase productivity but comes with risks at the same time. For my next project it probably makes sense to pick a rather tight deadline only for a certain fetureset, not for the whole deal. After all features needed for release are done I shouldn't worry about taking a few days more to ensure that the product is flawless and works as planned. I also feel that after working on projects myself for weeks and weeks i'm not that motivated to do a thorough test before the release. Furthermore, there's no way I could find as many bugs as someone who is either a real QA guy or is at least not as biased as I am. Hiring someone just for a few hours of final testing might be worth investing in.
What are your experiences with deadlines and final testing before release? How do you do it?
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