Should good products have less features? Not necessarily! However, it is important that a new features in a product should be added only when
As a user, it is very embarrassing to look at a product and wonder what the hell does it do! Especially, if there are so many options and controls on the interface. And a complex-to-use interface generally means that the product is meant for more mature market than the users' current skill level.
Nothing wrong with that, but let me get mature with usage of product. Let me get used to simple things, and then I will request for more power and fine-grained options.
If a product is intended for broader market (from beginner to power user), figure out a way to expose only enough features to match users' expectation level and gradually expose them to more powerful features, as they become more proficient and demanding.
And yeah, as you add new features, also keep a tab on features which are no longer relevant, and remove them. It will simplify product design, and keep costs down.
[Thought provoked after reading a blog entry from Laura Klein.]
- when consumers demand for it, and/or
- when customers are ready to consume it
As a user, it is very embarrassing to look at a product and wonder what the hell does it do! Especially, if there are so many options and controls on the interface. And a complex-to-use interface generally means that the product is meant for more mature market than the users' current skill level.
Nothing wrong with that, but let me get mature with usage of product. Let me get used to simple things, and then I will request for more power and fine-grained options.
If a product is intended for broader market (from beginner to power user), figure out a way to expose only enough features to match users' expectation level and gradually expose them to more powerful features, as they become more proficient and demanding.
And yeah, as you add new features, also keep a tab on features which are no longer relevant, and remove them. It will simplify product design, and keep costs down.
[Thought provoked after reading a blog entry from Laura Klein.]
No comments:
Post a Comment