Do The Thing Right

'The RightThing' this really a semantic nothing. In spite of that, it is one of my strongest personal principles while programming: DoTheThingRight (and DoTheRightThing of course). It is better to do less of the right things right than many things with unknown quality. It doesn't belong in the category of DesignPatterns. It is more a kind of PersonalPattern which comes together with CodeOnlyWithClearMind?, CommunicationIsWork?, FindThePrinciple?, TheAbyssIsAlwaysOneStepAhead, CodeControlParanoia?. -- ManfredSchaefer

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. -- CommonlyHeardSaying?

Nonsense. In large organisations, for example, there are plenty of paper-pushing administrivial jobs that need doing, but simply aren't worth doing right. Indeed, the only thing that doing them right will earn you is being assigned more of them.

If they aren't worth doing right, then they aren't worth doing. Here's something worth doing: eliminate all paperwork tasks for which the negative consequences of non-performance or incorrect performance are acceptable.

Agreed, but certain regulatory frameworks require at least minimal effort. Reports have to be filed to meet government requirements, for example, but they don't have to be good.

If it is worth doing, it is worth doing imperfectly rather than not at all.

If something is worth doing, it's worth attempting... even if you have risk of failure or imperfection. But, while imperfect solutions are still solutions (and many situations allow for these), there exist situations where certain (physical, design, logical) imperfections obviate the solution. In these cases, it really isn't worth more to do something imperfectly than not at all - except, perhaps, as a learning experience.

JuneZeroEight