--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I tell people to start implementing when…" description: "\"I tell people to start implementing when they are pretty sure there aren't more important stories out there. An iteration's worth of data is worth mont..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/kent-beck-12533_data_i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when_2076397.jpg" --- # I tell people to start implementing when they are pretty… ![“I tell people to start implementing when they are pretty sure there aren't more important stories out there. An iteration's worth of data is worth months of speculation.” quote by Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/kent-beck-12533_data_i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when_2076397.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/kent-beck-12533_data_i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when_2076397.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/kent-beck-12533_data_i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when_2076397.jpg) > “I tell people to start implementing when they are pretty sure there aren't more important stories out there. An iteration's worth of data is worth months of speculation.” [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Start projects when confidence is high; early data outweighs prolonged speculation. **In simple terms:** Begin when reasonably sure; data beats guesswork. Key Takeaway Act on solid confidence, gather data early. Themes decision‑making agile data‑driven confidence Mood pragmatic encouraging Type professional motivational When to use this quote - software development - startup planning - research projects - product design Key Concepts risk management iteration Questions to Reflect On - What evidence would convince you to start? - How much uncertainty is acceptable? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to premature launches. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Speculation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speculation/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [“Make plans at night and the dawn is the best time to start implementing these plans!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/make-plans-at-night-and-the-dawn-is-the-best-time-to-start/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The lordship of man over man is the root cause of all corrupt rule. In the light of this principle, no laws are legitimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/the-lordship-of-man-over-man-is-the-root-cause-of-all-corrupt-rule-in/) [Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/) > [The left - which is run by Obama and Hillary Clinton and the hierarchy in the Democrat Party - is doing everything they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-left-which-is-run-by-obama-and-hillary-clinton-and-the-hierarchy/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Power at its best is love implementing the demand of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/power-at-its-best-is-love-implementing-the-demand-of-justice/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The difference between the successful and the troubled is not error-free living; it is that by discovering and implementing a life calling, the successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-miller/the-difference-between-the-successful-and-the-troubled-is-not-error/) [Dan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-miller/) > [A guest worker program should help farmers who are willing to pay a fair wage for law-abiding, dependable workers - not punish them ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goodlatte/a-guest-worker-program-should-help-farmers-who-are-willing-to-pay-a/) [Bob Goodlatte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goodlatte/) > [I also believe that we have an extraordinary opportunity for the United States and European Union to lead the world in developing and implementing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-also-believe-that-we-have-an-extraordinary-opportunity-for-the/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The fact that you have a policy of such consequence directly affecting millions of people and you have a legal question of great consequence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-verrilli-jr/the-fact-that-you-have-a-policy-of-such-consequence-directly/) [Donald Verrilli Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-verrilli-jr/) > [The Government have consistently made it clear that the mechanism in the United Kingdom whereby the European draft constitutional treaty could be implemented is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-alexander/the-government-have-consistently-made-it-clear-that-the-mechanism-in/) [Douglas Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-alexander/) > [In a world where people are hungry for quick fixes and sound bites, for instant gratification, there's no patience for the long, slow rebuilding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hill/in-a-world-where-people-are-hungry-for-quick-fixes-and-sound-bites/) [Dan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hill/) > [I need an army. I need people out there who are either preaching with me to different audiences that I can't get to or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/i-need-an-army-i-need-people-out-there-who-are-either-preaching-with/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [China has adopted and is implementing its national climate change program. This includes mandatory national targets for reducing energy intensity and discharge of major…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hu-jintao/china-has-adopted-and-is-implementing-its-national-climate-change/) [Hu Jintao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hu-jintao/) > [Slander reveals the greatest truth about the coward implementing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanna-bonta/slander-reveals-the-greatest-truth-about-the-coward-implementing-it/) [Vanna Bonta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanna-bonta/) > [And also I assert our interest in respecting all our obligations and implementing all our commitments. And will save no effort whatever to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abbas/and-also-i-assert-our-interest-in-respecting-all-our-obligations-and/) [Mahmoud Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-abbas/) > [An expert is somebody who is more than 50 miles from home, has no responsibility for implementing the advice he gives, and shows slides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-meese/an-expert-is-somebody-who-is-more-than-50-miles-from-home-has-no/) [Edwin Meese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-meese/) ## More by Kent Beck > [If you're having trouble succeeding, fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/if-you-re-having-trouble-succeeding-fail/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“If I have the same logic in two places, I work with the design to understand how I can have only one copy. Designs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/if-i-have-the-same-logic-in-two-places-i-work-with-the-design-to/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [Responsible Development shares many practices with XP but the roots are different. Responsible Development's values are honesty, transparency, accountability and responsibility. These lead me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/responsible-development-shares-many-practices-with-xp-but-the-roots/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“However, most defects end up costing more than it would have cost to prevent them. Defects are expensive when they occur, both the direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/however-most-defects-end-up-costing-more-than-it-would-have-cost-to/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“Trust energizes participants. We feel good when things work smoothly. We need to be safe to experiment and make mistakes. We need testing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/trust-energizes-participants-we-feel-good-when-things-work-smoothly/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“If there are forms of testing, like stress and load testing, that find defects after development is "complete," bring them into the development cycle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/if-there-are-forms-of-testing-like-stress-and-load-testing-that-find/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“If you have a month to plan a project in detail, spend it on four one-week iterations developing while you improve your estimates. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/if-you-have-a-month-to-plan-a-project-in-detail-spend-it-on-four-one/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [Optimism is an occupational hazard of programming; feedback is the treatment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/optimism-is-an-occupational-hazard-of-programming-feedback-is-the/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“Some of the teams who read and applied the first edition of this book didn't get the part of the message about the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/some-of-the-teams-who-read-and-applied-the-first-edition-of-this-book/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“Beta testing is a symptom of weak testing practices and poor communication with customers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/beta-testing-is-a-symptom-of-weak-testing-practices-and-poor/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“Responsibility cannot be assigned; it can only be accepted. If someone tries to give you responsibility, only you can decide if you are responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/responsibility-cannot-be-assigned-it-can-only-be-accepted-if-someone/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [Whether you draw diagrams that generate code or you type at a browser, you are coding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/whether-you-draw-diagrams-that-generate-code-or-you-type-at-a-browser/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“Folk wisdom in software development teaches that interfaces shouldn't be unduly influenced by implementations. Writing a test first is a concrete way to achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/folk-wisdom-in-software-development-teaches-that-interfaces-shouldn-t/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [“To achieve this his team had a sophisticated stress testing environment. When they wanted to improve the architecture they would first improve the stress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/to-achieve-this-his-team-had-a-sophisticated-stress-testing/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) > [Of the four project development variables - scope, cost, time and quality - quality isn't really a free variable. The only possible values are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/of-the-four-project-development-variables-scope-cost-time-and-quality/) [Kent Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) [Explore all 54 Kent Beck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/) ## More Data quotes > [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/) Angela Llama-Butler > [“ data analytics consulting Perceptive Analtyics is a data analytic company and a trusted advisor to its clients across domains. Click to know more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastianmax/data-analytics-consulting-perceptive-analtyics-is-a-data-analytic/) SebastianMax > [The information nation took their clues from all the sound bite gluttons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem/the-information-nation-took-their-clues-from-all-the-sound-bite/) [REM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/) Ebbe Skovdahl > [Unlike return, however, risk is no more quantifiable at the end of an investment that it was at its beginning. Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Finding patterns is easy in any kind of data-rich environment; that's what mediocre gamblers do. The key is in determining whether the patterns represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/finding-patterns-is-easy-in-any-kind-of-data-rich-environment-that-s/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [“The amount of stored information grows four times faster than the world economy, while the processing power of computers grows nine times faster. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/the-amount-of-stored-information-grows-four-times-faster-than-the/) [Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/) [Browse all 3,134 Data quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I tell people to start implementing when they are pretty sure there aren't more important stories out there. An iteration's worth of data is worth months of speculation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kent Beck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when-they-are-pretty-sure-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Data" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when-they-are-pretty-sure-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/kent-beck-12533_data_i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when_2076397.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/kent-beck-12533_data_i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when_2076397.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/370/kent-beck-12533_data_i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when_2076397.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I tell people to start implementing when they are pretty sure there aren't more important stories out there…” — Kent Beck", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kent Beck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-beck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I tell people to start implementing...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when-they-are-pretty-sure-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-beck/i-tell-people-to-start-implementing-when-they-are-pretty-sure-there/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```