Why "nearly finished" can last for months

Over the last two months, one subject came up on my calls more than any other, and it was a small one. Is it finished yet?

Not whether the work had been done. Whether somebody on the client's side had looked at it properly and said yes, that works, we're happy. Getting to that sentence could take months.

What nearly finished looks like

We'd send over a list of what to check. It would sit there. Then somebody would try one part, spot something in another and send a message about a third. Nobody went through the whole thing from start to finish. Weeks would pass like that, with everyone sure we were nearly there.

I don't blame anyone for it. The people I work with are running businesses. Checking something new is always going to come second to the phone ringing.

The other problem was too many pieces going at once. When everything is half done, nothing can honestly be called finished, because each part is waiting on another part that's still changing.

What I changed

Now it's one thing at a time. Each piece comes with a short list of what to check and what working looks like. The next piece doesn't start until someone has said yes to this one.

And every Friday, the client gets a short note, two pages at most. What we finished this week. What we need them to look at. What we're waiting for, and who from.

That last line does the most work. It shows, in black and white, whether things are stuck with us or with them. A delay stops being a vague feeling and becomes a name on a page.

Somebody has to own it

The thing is, the team will check it usually means nobody will. So now, before any work starts, I ask who on their side will check it and who can say it's done. If no name comes up, we sort that out first.

For the final check, before any customer sees it, we agree a fixed window, let's say a week. Checking with no end date never really ends. It just fades, and the project fades with it.

None of it needs real customers or real money, either. A practice account and some made-up records are enough to find most problems somewhere they can't hurt anyone.

Something is finished when somebody on your side has tried all of it and said so. Everything I changed this year is about reaching that sentence sooner.