Dave Nicolette has a nice post called Good-enough today beats complete next year about how Agile helps to focus development on delivering something valuable in time for the business, instead of waiting for the full, perfect solution.
I think it’s important also to distinguish different kinds of quality. The clue is in the phrase “well-graded dirt road”, which means that it doesn’t do much but it is well built within its parameters. This is not the same thing as laying asphalt on mud, which might be as quick to build and looks good, but will be a source of misery and expense as long as it exists—and will be in the way when it’s time to build something more substantial.
Well said!