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Simple example: feature X is rarely used (thus we should get rid of it) Hold on, why is it rarely used? Is it hard to use? Is it hard to find? Was it poorly n

Simple example: feature X is rarely used (thus we should get rid of it) Hold on, why is it rarely used? Is it hard to use? Is it hard to find? Was it poorly named? Does it work right? Does it get me 80% of the way there? Does it get me 20% of the way there? Do I rarely need it but when I do need it it's a huge time saver? Am I hesitant to depend on it because I fear it will be taken away in a future update?

cosmic_cheese 23d ago
And following this, I'm sure we've all seen the pattern of manufacturing the data required to justify the removal of features. Bury feature → usage numbers tank → oh hey look nobody uses this any more, guess we can safely cut it!
mjr00 23d ago
> Simple example: feature X is rarely used (thus we should get rid of it) Oh man, I remember a very specific example of this: many years ago now, Google Chrome pushed an update that got rid of the option on the menu bar for "Close Tabs to the Right". I remember looking into the Google issue tracker where people were complaining, and some PM provided a "data-driven" justification: when people opened the context menu, they only clicked on the "Close Tabs to the Right" option 1-2% of the time. It's a great example of why data without context can give you the wrong answer. Of course the option is used relatively very rarely; you only need to clear out your tabs every once in a while, compared to creating new ones or managing tab groups! But it's still an essential task. It's like saying filing your taxes isn't important because you only need to do it 0.2% days of the year.
- zahlman 23d ago
  For what it's worth, I definitely don't organize my tabs in a way where "close to the right" would be helpful in cleaning them up.
  - skydhash 23d ago
    It's useful when starting a thread of research of research as new tabs will be opened to the right (Ctrl+Clicking a link). So after it's done, close to the right can be quite useful.
  - fragmede 23d ago
    I do. I open a search page, middle click a bunch of links, then want to close all of the ones to the right because I found one that told me what I needed and don't need the rest of them.
    - anonymars 23d ago
      Probably a perfect example of why it's so useful for developers to talk to users Not only to understand the usage of features, but also use cases perhaps to design even better features
  - bluefirebrand 23d ago
    I do all the time because the feature exists. I would treat it like a sliding line in my tabs bar. When I'm done with a tab for now it goes to the right, and eventually everything to the right gets closed once I haven't used it in a while
- ronjakoi 23d ago
  I don't like that they have that data in the first place. But then again I don't use Chrome.
Terr_ 23d ago
Conversely: Feature X is often used... Because to drive adoption someone made it mandatory for a certain workflow and it nags everyone else so they "engage" with it just enough to make it go away. (Looking at you, "AI" buttons...)

cosmic_cheese 23d ago

And following this, I'm sure we've all seen the pattern of manufacturing the data required to justify the removal of features. Bury feature → usage numbers tank → oh hey look nobody uses this any more, guess we can safely cut it!

mjr00 23d ago

> Simple example: feature X is rarely used (thus we should get rid of it) Oh man, I remember a very specific example of this: many years ago now, Google Chrome pushed an update that got rid of the option on the menu bar for "Close Tabs to the Right". I remember looking into the Google issue tracker where people were complaining, and some PM provided a "data-driven" justification: when people opened the context menu, they only clicked on the "Close Tabs to the Right" option 1-2% of the time. It's a great example of why data without context can give you the wrong answer. Of course the option is used relatively very rarely; you only need to clear out your tabs every once in a while, compared to creating new ones or managing tab groups! But it's still an essential task. It's like saying filing your taxes isn't important because you only need to do it 0.2% days of the year.

zahlman 23d ago
For what it's worth, I definitely don't organize my tabs in a way where "close to the right" would be helpful in cleaning them up.
- skydhash 23d ago
  It's useful when starting a thread of research of research as new tabs will be opened to the right (Ctrl+Clicking a link). So after it's done, close to the right can be quite useful.
- fragmede 23d ago
  I do. I open a search page, middle click a bunch of links, then want to close all of the ones to the right because I found one that told me what I needed and don't need the rest of them.
  - anonymars 23d ago
    Probably a perfect example of why it's so useful for developers to talk to users Not only to understand the usage of features, but also use cases perhaps to design even better features
- bluefirebrand 23d ago
  I do all the time because the feature exists. I would treat it like a sliding line in my tabs bar. When I'm done with a tab for now it goes to the right, and eventually everything to the right gets closed once I haven't used it in a while
ronjakoi 23d ago
I don't like that they have that data in the first place. But then again I don't use Chrome.

Terr_ 23d ago

Conversely: Feature X is often used... Because to drive adoption someone made it mandatory for a certain workflow and it nags everyone else so they "engage" with it just enough to make it go away. (Looking at you, "AI" buttons...)