Avoid Feature Creep in Enterprise Design at All Co$ts
What is Feature Creep?
Feature creep is when you add additional changes and or new product features beyond the original project scope. This universal design principle is still neglected in today’s world even by people who intellectually know the pitfall of this approach. It’s one of the most common causes of cost and schedule overruns. These additions and changes are usually sneaked in and so it’s easy for them to go unnoticed, hence the “Creep”. At the enterprise level this can be very important because of how it impacts the company over time. This includes increased help desk calls, support tickets, admin issues and maintenance. The ROI, direct and indirect costs of the product all come into question.
Feature Creep usually occurs because:
- Features are “easy” to add in software development.
- Features usually pile up over time with each version release without subtracting any.
- Features are added to appease internal project stakeholders. This is also known as the internal audience problem. People tend to think they know what’s best for the customer.
Social utility is the key driver
As consumers, we frequently choose feature-rich products that then later find unable to operate (e.g., cell phones with 82 features). This false belief that more is better is the key driver of Feature Creep. Because of this false belief, features are continuously added and are rarely ever taken away. Adding features adds to complexity which adds to cost.
A study by Philips Electronics found that about half of their returned products had nothing to do with defects. Consumers were returning them because they couldn’t figure out how to use them. This most likely influenced their new brand promise: Sense and Simplicity. The notion is that products should be user friendly and should improve the quality of people’s lives.
Best case scenario
Feature creep changes the scope of the project, increasing the time and cost of the project with minimal impact on performance and customer experience.
Worst case scenario
It has unforeseen performance or usability problems.
How to Avoid Feature Creep
- Be on the lookout for feature creep in your project and educate your team about the possible pitfalls.
- Ensure features are associated with the people who hold the mouse, and not added out of convenience or to satisfy stakeholder desires. You should also speak with the people who run the departments and who know the pain points at levels above an individual contributor’s role.
- Stick to business needs. Business needs should drive the required solutions; the solutions then should drive the tools you should build.
- When updating versions, ask not just about what is being added but also ask what can be subtracted.
- Whenever someone proposes a change just because it’s easy to add or because they know what’s best for the customer, ring the alarm.
- Each project should have a milestone to stop all additional requests. Shout “Feature Creeper!” if anyone is trying to add anything beyond this point.
In the end, whether you’re using your knowledge on Feature Creep to keep your project on time and on budget or to avoid the unforeseen disastrous ramifications due to change of scope, remember the next feature you add could well be the one that breaks the project’s back.
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