Always Draw a Bold Line

Recently working on a woodworking project I realized there is a resemblance with software development. I came to the conclusion that drawing a bold line plays an essential role in the success of a project in both cases. I had a blueprint I was trying to measure and cut the wood. Some measurements were important to be accurate to an eighth of an inch. The pencil was not sharp so instead of sharpening it, I thought I would draw a pale line in some cases I would notice that the line was not drawn accurately due to the pencil not being sharp. So in my thought, I would decide to cut the side of the line instead of on the line to address the issue. Doing so I realized that I would lose the line because it wasn't bold enough. Also not being sure of the exact offset I needed when cutting on the side of the line ended up the pieces being inaccurate so I had to redo the pieces or spend a lot of time correcting the cuts. After sharpening the pencil and drawing bold lines I realized a significant improvement in quality and the time spent. The same concept can be applied when we want to create software. Gathering specs, analyzing the scope, writing documentation, and designing software might seem unnecessary work or redundant which increases the timeline but as a matter of fact, preparation, designing, and using the correct tooling can enhance both the quality and the project timeline.