Product4 min read
The case for fewer features
Every addition costs something invisible. A short argument for saying no more often.
By Tomas Reid
Features are easy to count and impossible to un-ship. Each one adds a setting, a support question, an edge case in the code, and a line in the onboarding no one reads.
The best products are not the ones that did the most. They are the ones that decided early what they were not going to do, and held that line while competitors added everything.
Ask of every request: does this make the core thing better, or does it make the product bigger? Bigger is not better. Bigger is just harder to explain.
Say no kindly, say it early, and write down why. The list of things you declined is a product document in its own right.
