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The Paradox of Features

Every product team faces the same temptation: add more features. More features = more value, right?

Wrong.

The Feature Trap

Here’s what usually happens:

1. Launch with core features - Product is focused and clean
2. Users ask for features - Some requests make sense, others don’t
3. Add everything - Fear of saying no to users
4. Product becomes bloated - Original simplicity is lost
5. New users get confused - Too many options, unclear value

Sound familiar? It should. This is the story of 90% of software products.

Simple Doesn’t Mean Stupid

The best products I’ve reviewed share something in common: they do one thing exceptionally well.

They’re not trying to be everything to everyone. They picked their lane and stayed in it.

Examples:

• Notion - Despite being feature-rich, the core is still “blocks you can arrange”
• Linear - Could have added project management bloat, but stayed focused on speed
• Tools that try to do everything usually suck at everything

The Cost of Complexity

Every feature you add has a cost:

• More code to maintain
• More bugs to fix
• More UI to design
• More documentation to write
• More support questions to answer
• More cognitive load for users

Is that feature worth all of that? Usually not.

How to Stay Simple

1. Say no - A lot. Most feature requests are noise
2. Remove features - Yes, actually delete things
3. Focus on core use case - What’s the #1 thing users need?
4. Make it fast - Speed is a feature
5. Hide complexity - Advanced features can exist without cluttering the main UI

The Bottom Line

Simple products win because they’re:

• Easier to learn
• Faster to use
• Less likely to break
• More enjoyable to use

Next time you’re tempted to add a feature, ask: “Does this make the product simpler or more complex?”

If the answer is “more complex,” think twice.