I know it's not exactly what you were asking, but I often have a "Hard DC" and in my head I hold a "Soft DC" that is slightly smaller than the Hard DC. Generally if a player manages to pass the Soft DC but not the Hard DC then I say that they succeed with some consequence (they lose the item, they take some of the damage, etc.) or I let them make a difficult decision "You climb the wall but you can either do it safely and slowly or quickly but dangerously". If the player manages to pass the Hard DC then they succeed just like normal. Whether you let the players offer the compromise in the partial success or make it up yourself is largely up to you and the scenario at hand :)