Rudy can correct me if I’m mistaken, but when he wrote “do it right the first time”, I suspect that he meant bug-free.  The quality (fix the bugs) vs. profits considerations are, in my opinion, short-term considerations only.  In the long-run, continuing to make such decisions in favor of profits is likely to actually reduce profits.

For example, if you’re in your forties like me, then you’re likely to remember that, when growing up, your parents purchased American-made cars ONLY.  Try to gauge the ratio of foreign cars to American cars driven today the next time you walk through a supermarket parking lot.  8 to 1?  Greater?

Why?  One can try to over-complicate it, but the answer is that the Japanese auto makers have significantly higher standards for quality.  The Japanese strive to build bug-free automobiles.  American auto makers ask themselves, “How many bugs can we release in our products before the backlash begins to erode profits?” 

 (My Ford was recalled five times while I owned it and, with all the needed repairs, was more expensive to maintain than the one Honda and two Nissan’s I’ve owned combined.).

Richard’s “cat3 errors vs. cat1 errors” approach is, I’m afraid, common in our industry.  That’s my complaint.  In addition to being bad for business in the long-run, one can also argue that such an approach is also unethical (unless you disclose to your customers that your product is being delivered with “cat2 and cat1” errors).