Quality is important. I think that deserves repeating.
Quality is important. Quality of code, quality of process, quality of requirements, quality of communcation, quality of behavior, quality of teams, quality of customers. I tend to focus on the code side of things, but it is always important to remember that quality matters.
Often times (due to lack of quality in some of the other areas), quality can get pushed aside in the interest of getting things done. This is a balance that all of us must deal with. Ensuring good communication can put out fires long before they blow up in your face. Quality of code can ensure that future maintenance and development goes on without slowing to a crawl in productivity. Quality in process can guide you automate the tedious repeatable tasks to streamline your work. Any breakdown in these areas can be catastrophic to a team.
We had a meeting last night at Sogeti, and quality kept coming up as a topic. I was very proud to see the end result of the meeting:
