Feature Creep

We do everything to please our customers. Sometimes trying to please all of their needs can end up against our original goals. Usually we try to help people by adding the features that they have requested. These features that end up creeping up into our product or service can make it very complex and difficult to use.

You need to be very selective about what features to add, especially when you review the product. Because a customer asked for it, isn't necessary a reason to add it. If everyone that has used your product is asking for a certain feature, then you probably need to look into it. But if only a few of your customers want one feature, you need to be very thorough in identifying if this feature will add benefit to all your customers.

If you are also working on a project that has been going on for some time, it is worth spending some time to review what features you have. A feature that was essential in the past might not be useful any more. You need to continuously review and remove any feature that are not useful. This will allow you to have a simpler version that works well.

Feature creep is a disease, if you get it you need to be very careful about what features you end up adding to your product. Be selective and only add those that bring value to your product and customers.

Filed under  //  Features   Simplicity Tuesdays   feature creep   simple   simplicity  
Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

It's Not About Quantity, It's About Quality

This saying is more valuable now than it has ever been. We are living in a world where we are continuously bombarded about new things and everything new is packed with features.

The core purpose of simplicity is to create things that are easy to use and understand. For this reason focusing on quality rather than quantity is very important.

It doesn't matter what industry you are in, people are looking for quality solutions to their problems. It used to be that quantity and a multitude of features could outweigh any issues of lower quality. This doesn't work anymore. You need to focus on specific groups and offer them the best quality possible.

Forget about quantity and adding features. Trim, cut and focus so you can provide the best quality possible. Both you and your customers will be glad you did.

Filed under  //  Features   Simplicity Tuesdays   quality   quantity   simplicity  

Don't Sell Features

People make buying decisions based on emotions. Yet most startups, and especially web startups, try to sell their product by promoting their feature set and technology.

If you want people to buy your product or service then you need to create an emotional connection with them. If you don't and only use features to persuade them to buy from you, then you are risking creating a commodity (which means comparison based on cost) and putting yourself against bigger companies with more experience.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't mention the features at all. You should first grab their attention by an emotional proposition and then when you have their attention talk about your features. An easy and popular way to do this is by "hiding" the features. Apple does this by having the spec details in the 3rd or fourth sub-page of a product, the first pages talk about how awesome their products are and how fast you can work by using them.

Don't fall into the trap of just selling features. Especially if you are in a well established industry where your features will be similar to your competitors'. Instead, push the emotional buttons of your customers and get them to buy your products and services because of why you're doing this and who you are.

Filed under  //  Branding   Branding Thursdays   Features   emotional   emotions   simplicity