DRAFT

Fast, Cheap, Good: Choose Two

5 December

You know the saying “fast, cheap, or good: choose two”? It’s great as long as you just accept it blindly without thinking about it.

It’s bull shit.

“Good” is the only answer.

Good	Time and cost are at odds with each other. With a good start it will be faster over time, even with less money.
Cheap	Quality and time are at odds with each other. Compromising quality for speed will see a following drop in speed without an increase in quality. Building on a foundation of shit starts out fast, but it’s still shit, then it’s slow shit.
Fast	Cost and quality are at odds with each other. Compromising quality for lower costs will see a following increase in cost without an increase in quality. Again, building on a foundation of shit might be seem cost effective, but it’s still shit.

Hope isn’t lost for the overly-used cliché. There are appropriate times to choose various combos:

Fast & Cheap	Good for: single-purpose prototypes and proofs-of-concept. Bad for: anything you don't throw away after a week.
Cheap & Good	Good for: learning the long way. Bad for: reasonable timeframes.
Good & Fast	Good for: business - delivering high value quickly is rewarded in markets. Bad for: beginners, sort of. Focus on the quality and the speed will come.