I think we need to gain a little perspective here.
By profession I am a Business Process expert, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, etc. This includes a great deal of Project Management experience. One thing we talk about all the time is the interaction between Time, Scope/Quality, and Cost. Change one and it impacts the other two. In fact, one quip regularly used is "Time, Quality, Cost. Pick two..."
In my experience, one of the primary causes of time or cost over-runs in the projects I've managed or studied is Scope Creep. More and more features get added once the project is moving, leading to missed deadlines and cost overruns. It's to be expected; waterfall projects are interactive systems, add more stuff, it will cost more and take longer. So Kickstarters (stretch goals specifically) are, by their very nature, packed full of Scope Creep. So, either the cost needs to go up (and again, by the nature of a Kickstarter and its Stretch Goals, this CAN'T increase) or the timeline needs to stretch. So to me it was no big surprise.
But besides all of that, and all the other complaints made by posters above, each person has to look at it from their own criteria of Quality, Timeliness, and Cost. Cost can’t be an issue: we already pledged to the Kickstarter, and they haven’t asked for more money. So it’s all about Quality or Timeliness. Which would you rather have, so-so quality by December, or great quality in April? I certainly know where I stand on that. And I know that if I did withdraw, in a year I’d be kicking myself because I wasn’t patient enough to get a great game, with all the cool doodads.
By profession I am a Business Process expert, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, etc. This includes a great deal of Project Management experience. One thing we talk about all the time is the interaction between Time, Scope/Quality, and Cost. Change one and it impacts the other two. In fact, one quip regularly used is "Time, Quality, Cost. Pick two..."
In my experience, one of the primary causes of time or cost over-runs in the projects I've managed or studied is Scope Creep. More and more features get added once the project is moving, leading to missed deadlines and cost overruns. It's to be expected; waterfall projects are interactive systems, add more stuff, it will cost more and take longer. So Kickstarters (stretch goals specifically) are, by their very nature, packed full of Scope Creep. So, either the cost needs to go up (and again, by the nature of a Kickstarter and its Stretch Goals, this CAN'T increase) or the timeline needs to stretch. So to me it was no big surprise.
But besides all of that, and all the other complaints made by posters above, each person has to look at it from their own criteria of Quality, Timeliness, and Cost. Cost can’t be an issue: we already pledged to the Kickstarter, and they haven’t asked for more money. So it’s all about Quality or Timeliness. Which would you rather have, so-so quality by December, or great quality in April? I certainly know where I stand on that. And I know that if I did withdraw, in a year I’d be kicking myself because I wasn’t patient enough to get a great game, with all the cool doodads.