We all strive to create excellent quality products.
So, what would be the worst possible quality product?
One that hasn’t shipped yet!
Unshipped products have no use at all to the customer. Unfinished, buggy or otherwise lacklustre products may be a disappointment to the customer – but at least they can do something with it.
So, not shipping is the worst quality failure of all.
The consequence of this is: in order to achieve user satisfaction, you have no choice but to ship early, as early as possible. Before you’re done. Way before.
I know, it sounds scary. Ludicrous even. But a half-finished yet usable product is infinitely more useful than an almost-finished but unreachable one.
And what’s even better: you get to close the most valuable feedback loop early: the one between the development team and the customers. You get to make you product even better, by listening to and incorporating that feedback.
Since this is so scary, people like to come up with excuses. I’m sure you’ve heard plenty (maybe you even uttered them at some point).
So, yes, sure, don’t ship an unusable mess. After all, it would still be unusable (yet shipped) and thus not improve anything for your customers.
But you owe it to your customers to figure out a reasonable slice of product that you can ship early, as early as possible.