“Better than it was before” isn’t the same as “good enough”
In engineering and technology teams, there’s a phrase that appears in updates, retrospectives, and status reports:
“It’s better than it was before.”
On the surface, that sounds positive. Something improved. Progress has been made. But improvement alone doesn’t mean the outcome is acceptable, reliable, or fit for purpose.
To understand why, it helps to look outside technology for a moment.
The food hygiene rating analogy
In the UK, restaurants receive a Food Hygiene Rating from 0 to 5.
- 5 — Very good
- 4 — Good
- 3 — Generally satisfactory
- 2 — Improvement necessary
- 1 — Major improvement necessary
- 0 — Urgent improvement necessary
Now imagine a restaurant that previously had a rating of 1. After an inspection and some work on their processes, they improved to a 2. Technically, things have improved. You could honestly say: “It’s better than it was before.”
And that statement would be correct. But there’s a more important question:
Would you eat there?
Most people probably wouldn’t. Because a 2 still means improvement is necessary. The underlying standard hasn’t been reached. So while the situation is better, it still isn’t good enough.
The same trap exists in engineering
Technology teams often fall into the same pattern. A system that used to fail constantly, deploy unreliably, trigger noisy alerts, or carry security gaps gets some improvement work. The failure rate drops. Deployments are slightly smoother. Some monitoring is added. Then the familiar update arrives.
It might be completely true. But like the restaurant with a hygiene rating of 2, the important question remains: is the system now at the standard it needs to be? If the answer is no, then improvement is still required.
Progress without direction can become complacency
The danger with this framing is that it can unintentionally shift the conversation. Instead of asking “is this system fit for purpose?”, the discussion becomes “did we improve something?” Those are not the same thing.
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Progress without a clear target can slowly normalise mediocrity.
- A pipeline that “fails less often”
- An alerting system that is “a bit quieter”
- A platform that is “more stable than last quarter”
These might all be better than before. But if they still disrupt delivery, reliability, or user experience, they remain unresolved problems.
“Better than before” is still useful if the narrative is right
None of this means the phrase is useless. Recognising progress matters. In fact, improvement is a critical part of good engineering culture. The key difference is what comes next.
If the update simply stops there, it can become a way to close the discussion. But if the narrative continues with:
“It’s better than it was before. Now, how do we keep improving?”
…then the phrase becomes part of something more powerful.
Continuous improvement and Kaizen
In manufacturing and engineering disciplines, there is a concept known as Kaizen, the practice of continuous improvement. Kaizen recognises that systems rarely jump from broken to perfect in one step. Instead, improvement happens through small changes, iterative learning, and constant refinement.
The important part is that progress is acknowledged, but the standard remains clear. Returning to the restaurant analogy: moving from a hygiene rating of 1 to 2 is a step forward. But the goal isn’t 2. The goal is 5. The improvement is meaningful only if it is part of a path toward the required standard.
The question we should always ask
In technology teams, recognising improvement is healthy. But it should always lead to the next question: what does “good” actually look like?
- Is the platform reliable?
- Is the deployment pipeline predictable?
- Are alerts actionable?
- Is the system secure and observable?
If the answer is still “not yet,” then the work continues. Just like that restaurant with the rating of 2, yes, things have moved in the right direction. But until it reaches the standard people trust, the job isn’t finished.
Progress is a step, not the destination
Better than before should be treated as a milestone, not a conclusion. It recognises movement in the right direction. But engineering excellence, like food safety, ultimately requires meeting a standard that makes people confident in the result.
Until then, the right response isn’t to stop. It’s to keep improving.
