Business-focused custom software

Occasionally software developers fall into the trap of thinking that the little things aren't important.

Sometimes the little things are small cosmetic problems with our applications. A misspelled word, some misaligned controls, or some CSS that looks funny in the wrong browser - all of these things can seem like "little things". Unworthy of concern or time.

The problem is that these little things can detract and distress. Users can't focus on the software they are using when their eyes are drawn to a flaw. If the flaw isn't corrected quickly, it becomes a blight in the software. It demonstrates a lack of professionalism. It makes users of the software question its quality. And once you lose the respect of your users, it is a hard thing to regain.

Other times the small things are manual tasks. When there are only one or two, we think "no big deal - I can remember to do that". Pretty soon, those small tasks are part of a big list. Time and money is wasted in handling the minutiae. Every time we miss a step it takes more time and money to recover.

We have to fight our instincts. The little things are important. Attention to detail is worthwhile. It is okay to make mistakes. It is not okay to leave them unfixed.