{"id":6676,"date":"2016-09-01T17:23:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-01T17:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gosquared.com\/blog\/?p=6676"},"modified":"2019-11-28T11:25:23","modified_gmt":"2019-11-28T11:25:23","slug":"how-bad-features-are-born","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gosquared.com\/blog\/how-bad-features-are-born","title":{"rendered":"How bad features are born"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Avoid<\/p>\n

Building new features in your product can seem simple<\/a> at first.<\/p>\n

But building features that really work for your customers is an incredibly difficult process, and one that requires stepping back from the superficial. Good features come from focusing on the customer and their problem before ever touching a line of code or a pixel of the user interface.<\/p>\n

How a bad feature begins its life<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve seen plenty of features progress from inception for the wrong reasons. Here\u2019s a common example of how bad features get off the ground.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t start with the customer<\/h3>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Often, bad features will start from an internal discussion, rather than a genuine customer need.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re perceived as being easy to implement<\/h3>\n

\"Features<\/p>\n

Sometimes bad features seem easy to implement and on the surface they may look small and focused.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not designed thoroughly enough<\/h3>\n

\"Jumping<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to draw a screen \u2013 the screen that customers will see when this feature is working exactly the way you imagine it to. This is the most obvious piece of the design process. But good features are not born out of designing a single screen.<\/p>\n

Too many compromises are made in development<\/h3>\n

\"Too<\/p>\n

If there’s a lack of design and thought early on, the development of the feature inevitably suffers. Decisions that would normally come easy and naturally to the engineering team, become challenging because the high level goals and vision for the feature are not clear. <\/p>\n

What are the warning signs of a bad feature?<\/h2>\n

Bad features cause problems because they\u2019re not thought through deeply enough. More often than not bad features start with failing to think about the \u201cJob To Be Done\u201d the customer is hiring you for.<\/p>\n

It is sometimes possible to build good features without extensive customer research and user testing, but it\u2019s generally more difficult. When you rely solely on your instinct and empathy for your customers, sometimes you can get it right. But chances are you won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Even when you\u2019re building something with the best intentions, it\u2019s still easy to execute poorly on an idea for a feature. You can forget to design key elements of the user experience that are essential to the product feeling complete.<\/p>\n

The closer a feature gets to production, the easier it gets to evaluate whether it\u2019s a winner or a loser.<\/p>\n

The announcement of the feature is difficult to write<\/h3>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

When there aren\u2019t well defined reasons for building the feature nor a clear target audience, it\u2019s hard to articulate how it could be valuable and helpful to your customer base.<\/p>\n

The feature is received by customers with a mediocre response<\/h3>\n

\"If<\/p>\n

With an unclear announcement, a muddled development process, and a lack of vision for the feature, the response from customers will most likely be underwhelming. Not only in the audience reaction on social media, but in actual usage \u2013 customers don\u2019t engage with the feature and they don\u2019t see the need for it.<\/p>\n

When a feature wasn\u2019t built for a specific pain point your customers were experiencing, they don\u2019t find the need to use it. You\u2019ve built a feature for the wrong people, the wrong problem, and the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n

How to avoid building bad features<\/h2>\n

Have a clear idea of what job the customer is hiring you for<\/h3>\n

\"Jobs<\/p>\n

Most importantly, does this feature deserve to exist? Why are you working on it?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re embarking on a new feature primarily because you\u2019ve seen a competitor release something similar, then you probably haven\u2019t thoroughly considered or even identified the problem you\u2019re trying to solve. If you\u2019re jumping into a new feature because it seems like \u201cit wouldn\u2019t be too hard to do\u201d that\u2019s great, but does it actually deserve to be built right now?<\/p>\n

We utilise the \u201cJobs To Be Done\u201d framework extensively to focus on the problems we\u2019re being hired to solve. This means we\u2019re building features that form part of a logical workflow that helps our customers. We also use live chat<\/a> for continuing communication with customers \u2013 we regularly ask them questions, but often they approach us<\/em> requesting changes and improvements that we\u2019re always evaluating against our own roadmap.<\/p>\n

Write a simple explanation of why this feature is valuable to the customer<\/h3>\n

\"Write<\/p>\n

Amazon<\/a> famously writes their press releases for new products before they start working on them. We\u2019ve always found this to be a helpful process to go through before embarking on building new features \u2013 write at least a few sentences to outline why customers will benefit from the work you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n

Aside from helping with the product development process, writing the press release first helps with the marketing and sales when the feature finally hits production.<\/p>\n

Design the screen before and the screen after<\/h3>\n

\"Design<\/p>\n

Most features are part of a flow. Rarely is there just one static screen to design. Run through the feature step-by-step to find out how you arrive at the feature, what happens when you interact with it, and where the user goes after they\u2019ve used the feature.<\/p>\n

Using a prototyping tool like Marvel<\/a> helps encourage you to think about how the feature fits into a flow \u2013 you have to design the interaction and go beyond just a static screen.<\/p>\n

Design the empty state<\/h3>\n

\"Design<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to think of a feature in use with all the data and information in the screen when everything\u2019s fully set up. But many users never get to your \u201cdream\u201d state \u2013 they\u2019ll likely see the feature when it\u2019s not yet being used. Have you<\/em> thought about the feature when it\u2019s not being used? Designing the empty state of a feature can help encourage users to interact with the feature in the first place.<\/p>\n

Design the error state<\/h3>\n

\"Design<\/p>\n

Things don\u2019t always go to plan. Considering what happens to a feature when an API is throwing an error or when the user\u2019s internet goes offline helps ensure the feature feels solid and reliable.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to forget the error states when designing in a protective environment (like on a local machine with super fast wired network access), but when your product is used in the real world real problems happen. It\u2019s easy for an entire product to start feeling brittle and fragile if you don\u2019t consider error states and fallbacks.<\/p>\n

Good features start with problems<\/h2>\n

If there\u2019s one sure-fire way to spot a bad feature, it\u2019s when the value to customers isn\u2019t immediately obvious. Whenever you\u2019re struggling to explain why a new feature is going to help your customers, stop and run through these points to check you\u2019re not building for the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n

Good luck, go build something great!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Building new features in your product can seem simple at first. But building features that really work for your customers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1587],"tags":[1158,1227,1101],"class_list":["post-6676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-product-design","tag-design","tag-product-design","tag-product-management"],"yoast_head":"\nHow bad features are born - GoSquared Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The web is scattered with products that have useless, bad features. 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