Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Getting to Good Enough

"Don't let good enough get in the way of perfect."

This adage works for me most of the time as I'm designing eLearning courses.

Right now, I'm feeling like just getting to good would be an achievement.

Client demands, project schedules -- sometimes all you can do is churn it out.  Right now, I'm proofing a storyboard that's full of endless text bullets and boring software demos with no interactivity -- and there's really nothing I can do about it.

What would you do if you were me? 

A.  Cry.

B.  Just do it.  The client's paying the bill after all and this is what they've asked for.

C.  Hope next time will be better.

D. Other.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perfect is unobtainable. Good is good enough in the land of endless iterations and throw-away content that becomes obsolete quickly. Of course good is very subjective. After the crying, the hand-wringing, the questioning existence, the fear of turning into a zombie...I would just crank it out and move on. Nothing is ever as bad as we think it is especially if the previous standard was perfection. : )

Eric Wilbanks said...

E. All of the above.

Wendy said...

I cope by blogging about it.
I've been in your shoes.
And even get bad assessments to convert too!
The snarking is quite therapeutic. Good luck!!!!

Cammy Bean said...

@ Janet -- Thanks, Mom!

@ Eric -- Thanks for the sympathetic ear.

@ Wendy -- But I hardly have time to blog (whine, whine, whine)...

Clark said...

In the past, I've cut it down significantly, and sent it back to the writer/author hoping they'll learn a leaner writing style. Not usually, of course, but I tried. I've also tried to argue with clients about what makes effective learning. But learn so the next time you show the client leaner, more engaging stuff, educate them on what it takes to get there and why it's worth it... Don't just give in every time, learn, plan, and try to prevent it in the future

Tony Karrer said...

Cammy - you have to do what you have to do. The client is ultimately right. I agree about cutting it down. If you could just read the same thing - why not web pages and spend time making 5 minutes of good stuff.

But we've all been there.

Cammy Bean said...

Clark, you're so optimistic to think that next time there will even be enough time!

I'm into next time right now with this same client -- unrealistic scheduling needs on their part mean compromised quality. And they know it too.

Tony, thanks for your sympathy!