Adding a Feature Isn’t the Same as Improving Your Product

MediumNathan Tuftsbrown

AI summary focused on the core points of the original article.

Adding features ≠ improving the product: Simply adding new features does not lead to UX/UI improvement or growth and may damage the core value and experience of existing users.
The importance of asking the right question: Instead of asking “Can we build this?” or “Should we follow a competitor?”, ask “Does this belong here?”—whether it fits naturally into the existing user flow and context.
Extending existing user workflows: A new feature should extend the flows users already rely on rather than force them to adopt an entirely new mental model.
The risk of competitor-reactive development: Copying a feature simply because a competitor launched it creates the “Swiss Army Knife” problem: many features, but none that work especially well.

Failure case (LinkedIn Stories): Introduced in 2020 during the Lens/Stories trend, it was discontinued in 2021 because it did not fit the context of a professional networking product.
Success case (SBTi Emissions Reduction Target Dashboard): By focusing on one core task—helping companies understand their carbon-emissions data—it became an efficient tool that more than 13,000 companies could use immediately without separate training.

Validate the idea before development: Use flow diagrams, fake door tests, and concierge MVPs to determine whether the feature is genuinely needed.
Validate the execution after development: Use tree testing, user usability testing, and retention measurement with a control group to confirm that the feature does not disrupt the user experience.

Product improvement depends less on the number of features than on how naturally and clearly a new feature extends the core flow of existing users.

Good situations for reading

When competitor features or internal requests are quickly filling the roadmap
When you need criteria for deciding whether a feature truly belongs in the product before spending development resources

Points to take away

Feature priority should be judged first by whether it fits the existing user flow and mental model, not merely by whether it can be built.
Connecting pre-development need validation with post-launch flow and retention validation is necessary to determine whether adding the feature actually improved the product.

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