Gold Plating

The term "gold plating" comes from the domain of bathroom taps. Some people like to have gold-plated taps. Of course, the water does not flow out of gold-plated taps any better than it does from chrome-plated ones. The difference is that the gold-plated tap costs more and might, to some eyes, look a little better. This term has been taken up by the software industry to mean unnecessary features and requirements that wind up contributing more to the cost of a product than they do to its functionality or usefulness.

Let's look at an example. Suppose a requirement for the IceBreaker product states that it shall play a piece of classical music when an engineer logs on. Our knowledge of the IceBreaker product leads us to suspect that this is a gold-plated requirement. It does not appear to contribute to the overall goals of the product. But maybe the truck depot supervisor thinks that the product would be more pleasing to the engineers if it plays music to them.

Does it matter if this requirement is not included?

This requirement is gold plating. It is there because it might be "nice to have." No one would mind if the requirement were omitted from the product. So the first test of gold plating is, "Does it matter if the requirement is not included?" If no one can truly justify its inclusion, then it may be considered gold plating.

The second, and perhaps more reliable, test is to look at the customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction ratings attached to the requirement. A low dissatisfaction rating indicates a requirement that is probably gold plating. After all, when the customer says that it does not matter if this requirement is not included, then he is signaling a requirement whose contribution to the product is not vital.

A low dissatisfaction rating indicates a requirement that is probably gold plating.

We hasten to add that we do not advocate excluding all gold-plated requirements from your product. It is often a good idea to add that little something extra, that extra little bit of chocolate. Sometimes a little gold plating makes a difference to the acceptance of the product. Sometimes we take great pleasure in unnecessary but delightful features. Look at your iPod the next time you charge it. The screen indicates it is charging by displaying a graphic of a battery being filled. Note the speed: The filling speed decreases as the battery nears its full charge. Your screen saver, the sounds attached to alerts, changing screen colors and wallpaper, pictorial and customizable icons: The list of gold-plated items that please us goes on and on.

The point is that you should know whether a requirement is gold plating. If you decide to include a gold-plated requirement, it should be a conscious choice. If you discover that you cannot implement all of the requirements within the project constraints, then gold-plated requirements are prime candidates for exclusion.