Feature creep is the “tendency for product or project requirements to increase during development beyond those originally foreseen. Feature creep may be driven by a client’s growing “wish list” or by developers themselves as they see opportunity for improving the product”. It is a concept with which I was unfamiliar until fairly recently, but it one that I now know well. Our company is nearing the end of a yearlong process of rebuilding our website. Over the last year, as we have approached the end, I am continually thinking “ooooohhh but we should have that too, it will only take a week”. And the weeks add up.

I am pretty sure if my partner hadn’t explained feature creep, we could have kept working on this thing forever… I really like shiny things. But the education combined with a little discipline, saying no to new toys has us ready to launch. It has me thinking about perfection and compromise.

During elections politicians (myself included) promise to do things. When elected they try and do the things they have promised to do and they succeed and fail. If they are well intentioned many of their failures are likely related to the fact that they are only one of several voices at the table. Maybe the “koolaid” that everyone talks about is the reality that the perfect can get in the way of the possible… and so a pragmatist compromises and delivers hopefully good but likely less than perfect.

That realization doesn’t make it any less frustrating that we politicians promise things we can’t deliver. So I wonder, would voters elect someone who said… “I am going to try and accomplish X, Y and Z but in reality I may have to settle on T, U and V. I will do my best”?

I think that is what I am going to look for next time I vote… a politician who is realistic about what one person can accomplish. I am going to try and find someone I agree with on issues but who is honest about the difficulty of getting the perfect. I think I am going to try and find someone who is willing to admit up front that compromise will likely be part of progress. Boring for sure… but maybe boring politics is good politics?

Last week RMOW council:

1. Received an information report from the Whistler Waldorf School explaining their proposal to make Spruce Grove their permanent home. Our kids go to school at the WWS so it was pretty cool to see what is proposed.
2. Presented the first ever RMOW Quarterly Financial Report. This has been one of the more exciting projects I have been able to work on since being elected. Going forward we will have quarterly updates on the financial position of the RMOW. Stoked.
3. Received a report on the Whistler Olympic Plaza sound levels. Report indicates levels in surrounding neighborhoods are close to ambient when there are concerts on. That doesn’t mean you don’t hear them only that the dBs aren’t higher than cars, buses, people talking etc.
4. Unanimously voted to change the RMI Oversight Committee into the Economic Partnership Initiative (EPI) Committee. The thinking is we want to focus on developing an economic development strategy and they people on that committee would likely be very similar to those on the RMI Oversight Committee. Instead of create a redundant group… we’ve consolidated the two. IMPORTANT: RMOW is looking for a member at large for this committee. I think it would be great if there was some younger representation on the committee. If you are interested or know someone who is apply here. Application closes on September 20, 2012.