Photot by Erik Mclean
In today's fast-paced digital world, it's easy to get caught up in the race to add more and more features to your product. But the truth is, most users only care about a few core features that solve their specific problem or meet their specific need.If you're not careful, you can easily lose sight of what's important and end up with a product that's bloated, complex, and difficult to use. That's why it's essential to focus on your product's core features when you're creating it.
Focusing on core features helps you to validate your product idea. By focusing on your product's core features, you're able to quickly build a prototype and get feedback from potential users. This allows you to validate your product idea and make sure that you're building something that people actually want without distracting them.
With core features only you reduces development costs and time to market. When you're not wasting time and resources on non-essential features, you can develop your product more quickly and efficiently. This means that you can get your product to market sooner and start generating revenue.
Working on core features creates a better user experience. Users appreciate products that are simple and easy to use. When you focus on your product's core features, you're able to create a product that is streamlined and user-friendly. This leads to higher user satisfaction and loyalty.
The first step to focusing on core features is to identify them. This can be done by conducting user interviews, running user search… and understanding their needs and wants. You can also use data analytics, workshop, surveys and many other technics to identify the features that are most popular and used by your existing users too.
Once you have a good understanding of your product's core features, you can start to prioritize them. This means deciding which features are most important to your users and which features can be added later.
Feature creep is a common problem that occurs when product teams start adding too many features to their product. This can happen for a number of reasons, such as pressure from stakeholders, competition, or simply a desire to create the "perfect" product.
To avoid feature creep you need to have a clear vision for your product. What problem does your product solve? What need does it meet? Once you have a clear vision, you can use it to filter out non-essential features.
Also you can prioritize your features. Not all features are created equal. Some features are more important to your users than others. Prioritize your features based on their importance and impact.
This is why I think that focusing on core features is essential for product success. By focusing on the features that are most important to your users, you can validate your product idea, reduce development costs and time to market, and create a better user experience.
Article by Gregoire Bessette & Bard
