The “Feature Paradox”
May 26th, 2007
When you add features to a Web site (or Swiss Army Knife), does it make it easier to use? Umm, no.
There’s an interesting phenomenon that takes place during the development of any type of product. More and more features are requested and often packed into the product to satisfy customer demand, but when the product is launched, many of those features are never used.
It’s called The Feature Paradox. It’s like the old 80-20 rule: 80 percent of people will use 20 percent of an interactive Web site’s features. But they always seem to want those other features, those bells and whistles – like some insurance policy – in case they’re ever needed.
If you’re responsible for redesigning your company’s Web site, you might want to remember The Feature Paradox and avoid adding functionality that will be used only in edge cases. Focusing on usability – how people in your organization will use your Web site – can help keep you from spending excessive time and money on features that people will rarely use and which in some cases might not even contribute to a project’s ROI.
(Tip of the hat to Typestorming)
