Feature Creep

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Feature creep is when products or projects keep accumulating new features beyond their original scope. It often starts with good intentions—”Wouldn’t it be nice if…?” — but ends in bloated software, confused users, and missed deadlines.

My favorite real-world example?
Image editing software on digital cameras. You bought the camera to take pictures, not to crop them with a D-pad. Somewhere along the way, someone decided it needed filters, and a slideshow mode. Why? Because it made for a bullet point in marketing literature, was technically possible—and nobody said no.

Why Feature Creep Happens

• Stakeholders keep adding “just one more thing”
• Developers get excited about what’s possible
• No one enforces scope discipline
• Fear of missing out on a competitor’s feature

The Cost

• Scope expands → timelines slip
• Usability suffers → core use cases get buried
• Maintenance gets harder → more bugs, more debt

Then vs. Now

Back in the day, adding features meant burning another EEPROM or shipping a new CD-ROM. Now, with continuous delivery, it’s easier than ever to shovel new stuff into a product. The pressure to keep evolving is constant. But the result is often less product vision—and more product clutter.

Preventing Feature Creep

• Define a strong core use case—and stick to it
• Add constraints, not features
• Involve UX early and often
• Say “no” more than you say “yes”

In a Nutshell

Feature creep is scope drift in slow motion. Left unchecked, it turns simple tools into Frankenstein products. Sometimes the best feature is the one you leave out.