In the previous chapter, I talked about launch. In today’s development, launch is just one of many releases in the life span of software. But launch is significant for another reason: a launch date gives a powerful dose of motivation.

Why? Because we know our software is no longer waiting on the sidelines; it is alive and ready and is a huge lift to the ego.

The good feeling that comes from finishing the first phase has a huge implication on how well and efficiently we’ll continue to do our work in the future. Contrast that with the soul-sinking feeling we get from the endless tweaking of software still not deemed ready for prime-time.

Sometimes, though, we’re scared to launch. Launch means that our precious application is now at the mercy of the masses. What will they say? As we saw in the previous essay, whatever they say at first might not be what they think down the road. Even if there are critical changes that have to be made, we can make them. Very few add-ons, removals, or logic shifts are undoable. Good programmers prepare themselves for this all the time. The basis of design patterns, methods on refactoring, and best practices is largely to accommodate for change in the future.

So, get your software to launch as soon as you reasonably can. You’ll find out more about how to ensure your launch date doesn’t keep slipping away in our next chapter on productivity.