Perfection Isn’t a Glacier; it’s a Patchwork Quilt

Over the years, I have developed a view of perfection in software that has shaped how I lead and how I work with engineers and architects. It challenges the mindset our industry inherited; and replaces it with something more human, realistic and valuable. I call it the Quilt vs Glacier view of perfection.

The Problem with “Perfect”

We often talk about perfection as if it is universal. One shared meaning. One agreed destination. One standard that everyone recognises.

It is not.

As leaders, if we do not define what we mean by perfection, our teams will guess, assume or chase someone else’s version of it. In technology, most of us inherited a very particular idea of perfection without ever questioning it.

The Glacier Ideal We Inherited

For a long time, I encouraged engineers and architects to stop obsessing over perfection and aim for something more realistic and valuable. I thought I was challenging perfection; however, I had already accepted someone else’s definition of it without realising.

In our industry, perfection usually means something clean, consistent, uniform and untouched. Like a glacier; smooth, flawless and frozen in time. It sounds admirable; however, there is a problem with this: glaciers do not change, and software must.

My Realisation

For years, I treated the glacier ideal as the gold standard we should simply dial down from. I would say that we should not aim for perfection; instead, aim for something less perfect but more useful.

I meant well; however, I was wrong.

The so called less perfect outcome I described was not a compromise. It was my definition of perfect. I just had not recognised it yet.

The Quilt vs Glacier

So let me plant a flag here, because this is the heart of what I now believe. This is what I call the Quilt vs Glacier view of perfection.

Software is not, and will never be, a glacier. We imagine our codebase should be smooth and uninterrupted; however, the reality is quite different.

It is a patchwork quilt.

Different patterns. Different contributors. Different eras and styles of thinking.

Stitched together over time with care and intention.

A Better Kind of Perfect

A quilt is not almost perfect. It is not the consolation prize for failing to create a glacier. A quilt is perfect in a different way.

Because the purpose of a quilt is not to impress you with symmetry; it is to keep you warm. And the purpose of software is not to look beautiful; it is to deliver value.

Quilt perfection is collaborative, evolving, human, value oriented and built to change.

The mistake was never the quilt. The mistake was believing the glacier was the ideal.

A Question for Leaders

As a leader, I no longer push people down from perfection; I encourage them to adopt a definition of perfection that fits the nature of our work: The quilt is my perfection.

So here is a question that is worth sitting with.

What does perfect mean to you?

• Do your teams know?

• Are they chasing the glacier, when the quilt is what you actually value?

Because if we do not define perfection, the industry will define it for us. And it will choose the glacier every time.