5
Team Cloobot
Jun 5, 2023
You hit go-live. You celebrate. But then the emails trickle in:
“Can we update that dashboard logic?”
“Ops team can’t see the flow properly.”
“Forgot that field that product needed.”
Does this sound familiar to you? If yes, then you are stuck in a loop where “done” is just the beginning of the storm. Salesforce projects often slip back into maintenance, tweaks, and drama, long after they were supposed to be finished. And it costs far more than just time.
The Invisible Costs of “Done”
“Done” feels done until you realize most Salesforce (and general CRM) implementations don’t hit goals. In 2024, about 55% of CRM projects failed to achieve their planned objectives.
Projects also tend to blow past timelines: one survey found that 70% of respondents exceeded their planned schedule by 30% or more.
That means when “done” doesn’t stick, rework becomes inevitable, bug fixes, missing requirements, and misunderstood logic. And rework drains budget, morale, and trust. It’s the reason small teams burn out, and large teams spiral.
Why “Done” Is Never Truly Done
1. Requirements That Don’t Hold Up
Early user stories are often vague. “Notify when deal stage changes” might mean different things to sales, legal, and operations. Missing stakeholders in initial alignment means “done” hides missing functionality.
2. Edge Cases & Missed Scenarios
Projects test happy paths - desktop, main user type, standard record types. But once the real world comes, mobile users, custom profiles, integrations, things start to break.
3. Technical Debt & Under-Optimization
Quick fixes (“just this one time”) pile up. Unused fields, alien macros, flows with legacy dependencies. These add friction to every change.
4. Scope Creep Without Guardrails
A small change request here, a tweak there, suddenly you’re rearchitecting what you thought was finished. Without impact analysis or tracking scope evolution, “done” becomes flexible but dangerously so.
Before vs After: What Happens When “Done” Really Means Done
Before (Typical Projects)
Project effort lost to rework |
Bug fixes in production cost rise |
Projects exceed timelines |
Morale dips as teams loop back into “fix mode” instead of innovating. |
After (Projects with Clarity + Automation)
Requirements tracked to testable specs cut rework by up to 40% |
Automated validation reduces human errors in config and flow building |
Faster feedback cycles: UAT defects shrink when shift-left testing is adopted. |
Team focus shifts from firefighting to strategic enhancements, improving delivery confidence. |
When “done” is treated as a measurable outcome, the payoff is visible in velocity, cost savings, and trust. It’s not about doing more. It’s about building right, the first time.
How to Really Make “Done” Means Done
Insist on detailed acceptance criteria at story stage, with all stakeholders.
Test early and test beyond the happy path: mobile, different profiles, integrations.
Use dashboards to track “reopened” stories post-go-live, instead of ignoring them.
Use tools/prototypes/mockups for flow reviews before dev starts.
Introduce lightweight automation to lock specs into measurable artifacts.
The Outcome is Confidence, Speed and Sanity
When “done” is truly done, teams move forward with momentum. Sprints close cleanly. Budgets stay intact. Users trust the system. Leaders trust their teams.
You don’t need to linger in “almost done.” You can deliver with clarity, stability, and confidence. It’s not just about finishing. It’s about finishing well.