Features Get Cut – Sometimes you figure out a planned feature can’t be implemented, or maybe its taking too long, or you later realize the feature is a bad idea. If you cut something from the list, your customers will feel “betrayed”.

Microsoft got bit pretty hard by this with Vista. They had a bunch of features planned and had to scale back as things got further into development. But everyone was expecting these features. As a result, the “Vista” brand was tainted. There was a public perception that Vista was “gutted” or “offers no benefits to the user”, which is completely untrue, but people still believe it. Why do you think Windows 7 is being pushed out the door so fast? And why do you think the development of Windows 7 was much more tight-lipped?

Maybe you can try to justify the feature cuts on your blog, but that usually doesn’t work. The simple fact is that people don’t understand software development. Even other developers don’t get it half the time. (“I could code that feature in 5 minutes, why did you cut it?”)

Trying to justify yourself on your blog, mailing lists, etc is also a HUGE time sink. You can end up needing a full-time PR person to handle it.

The other problem is that posting a feature list also creates the perception that you are asking for public comment. And in many cases, you aren’t. But if you don’t bend over backwards to implement all of the “What about x” comments to the blog post, you appear to be ignoring your customers.

How many feature do you think Apple cuts that we don’t know about? Have you ever noticed that when Apple introduces a feature, it is treated like a blessing from God? Have you ever noticed that when Microsoft introduces a feature, the public reaction is usually “about damn time”. Isn’t it ironic that the opaque company (Apple) is the one with a higher perception of brand-quality?

You could make an argument for not posting the feature list until your requirements are really firm (late in the development cycle after the kinks have been worked out), but that undermines the concept of transparency.

One thing I would like to point out, though, is if a company provides a product or service in a highly competitive/saturated market. They might want to keep their lips sealed on upcoming enhacements, features, roadmaps for fear that their competitors might beat them to it.