Designed for Use, 2nd Edition

Inform Your Users

Before you yank a feature, it’s always best to tell your users what you intend to do and ask for their input on your decision. It’s entirely possible that you missed something when deciding which features to cut. Identify the features you intend to cut, and explain why you intend to cut them.

Don’t let people vote on which features to cut (a vote doesn’t tell you anything about why people voted the way they did, and if you have to override the results, you’re inviting a user revolt), but do take their opinions and feedback into account. These people are the ones who actually use your product, so they might have useful insights into how your product is being used in the real world—insights that you might have missed.