Rarely say yes to feature requests

A fantastic guide for a dilemma facing any web-based product.

Here’s a simple set of Yes/No questions that you can quickly answer before you add another item to your product roadmap.

Saying yes to a feature request – whether it’s a to an existing customer, a product enquiry, a teammate, or a manager – is immediately rewarding. It’s an unspoken transaction where you barter long term product focus in exchange for short term satisfaction. Buying short term joy for the cost of long term pain is the human condition.

1. Does it fit your vision?
2. Will it still matter in 5 years?
3. Will everyone benefit from it?
4. Will it improve, complement or innovate on the existing workflow?
5. Does it grow the business?
6. Will it generate new meaningful engagement?
7. If it succeeds, can we support & afford it?
8. Can we design it so that reward is greater than effort?
9. Can we do it well?
10. Can we scope it well?