Avoiding the Featuritis Trap: How to Prioritize Features and Reduce Creep for Happy Users

In their insightful blog post Features vs. Benefits from the Creating Passionate Users blog, software designer and author Kathy Sierra astutely breaks down the perils of “featuritis” – the tendency of products to accumulate more and more features to the detriment of user experience.

Sierra’s post, which she graciously allowed me to draw from for this article, lays out some key concepts, like the Featuritis Curve and the Happy User Peak, that provide an invaluable framework for thinking about feature prioritization. As product creators, we’re always tempted to pile on the features, but Sierra makes a compelling case for restraint and focus. Her post was the direct inspiration for this deeper dive into balancing features and user happiness.

Feature Prioritization

One of the biggest challenges in product development is deciding which features to include and which to leave out. As tempting as it is to pack in every bell and whistle imaginable, doing so often leads straight into a trap Sarah calls featuritis.

The key to avoiding featuritis is understanding the Featuritis Curve:

As you can see, there is a Happy User Peak where the product has just the right balance of valuable features and simplicity. Users feel empowered and think, I Rule! because the product capably handles their key needs without overwhelming complexity.

However, once you add features past this peak, you start sliding down the curve. The product gets bloated, confusing, and frustrating to use. Users become unhappy as they struggle with the complexity, thinking I suck, I can’t even do this basic thing!

The difference between a successful product and a struggling one often comes down to knowing where to stop on the Featuritis Curve. Resist the urge to add just one more feature – it’s a slippery slope into the featuritis trap.

So what’s the best way to avoid this trap and keep your product lean and focused? Here are some proven strategies:

1. Ruthlessly prioritize: Every potential feature needs to prove its value. If it doesn’t serve the core use cases and goals, leave it out, even if some customers ask. Don’t let edge cases drive you into featuritis.
2. Prototype and test with users: Get feedback before investing in building things. Watch how users interact with prototypes to separate real must-haves from nice-to-haves.
3. Decide as an empowered team, not a committee: Featuritis often happens when decisions get made by large groups. To avoid this, have a small, empowered product team make the hard prioritization choices, insulated from endless debates and design-by-committee. As this illustration shows, group dynamics frequently undermine smart choices:

4. Measure and iterate: Instrument your product so you can analyze what features actually get used. Be ready to remove unused complexity. Think of product development as ongoing curation, not just continual expansion.

Ultimately, you must be willing to say no to customers and internal stakeholders. Features that seem like great ideas often undermine the core product experience. Keeping things simple and focused takes real conviction.

If you can resist the siren song of creeping featuritis and stay disciplined about prioritizing only what matters, your users will thank you. They’ll appreciate a product that works without the complexity. You’ll deliver something that makes them feel like rulers, not suckers. And that’s the key to loyal, passionate users.