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Ask HN: Axing features in a prototype product?
I'm currently working on a startup I've founded, trying to get my project out the door. When I initially conceived of the product, it was extremely simple, and then I quickly added plans for a whole bunch of features which I thought would be huge and amazing. Now that I'm trying to implement, and get it out the door, I've got a twofold incentive to boot some of them, first, they're pushing forward my launch, and second I'm not sure some of them are all that compelling to being with. Nonetheless, I'm very anxious about launching with a minimal version of the product, or abandoning what felt like a "grand plan".
Has anyone ever been in a similar situation? Is it just a case of telling your inner perfectionist to chill? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks!
- SwellJoe 17y agoDrop the features. You'll never have an easier time doing so than right now. Once you have users, getting rid of any feature (even dumb ones) will infuriate someone. We've only managed to excise one major feature (a poorly thought out one that people migrating from a competing product wanted so that things acted the same in one regard; basically, we borrowed a feature from a competing product to make a few users comfortable, but found that it confused everybody else) in several years of development, and even that one is still merely hidden and can be re-enabled. Once users have added something to their workflow, you cannot change it without blowback. So, don't add things you aren't sure about.
- p01nd3xt3r 17y agoRelease early, release often.
- protomyth 17y agoFor a first release, pick only the features that constitute the core idea of your product, but make sure the core is tested and working. "Get the tree, then hang some ornaments"