The oft though-provoking XKCD published a flow chart recently, called <a href="http://xkcd.com/844/" source="XKCD" author="">Good Code</a>, which outlines the two branches: doing it <b>fast</b> or doing it <b>right</b>. The chart is linked below. <img src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/good_code.png" align="center" width="50%"> Despite the panacea of <i>Agile Development</i>, you still can't have both <i>fast</i> and <i>right</i>. While it is possible to write good code, the odds are good that that code will accomplish a task that no longer requires completion (indicated by the <iq>requirements have changed</iq> block). Even if it's decent code, it's further quite likely that it is "code with concessions" and, though it works, there are a forest of TODOs and missing integration tests blighting your conscience.