Beware of Feature Creep
I like the term "feature creep", which is a software development term that is defined by UrbanDictionary.com as:
"Generally the product of optimistic programmers or overambitious managers, feature creep is generally considered a bad thing. Feature creep makes a program that would have done one thing well into a program that does ten things, all poorly."
It's pertinent because I think that nearly all web applications, particularly shopping cart applications (not to mention CMS systems) suffer from severe cases of feature creep. There are so many instances where applications try to offer so many options, preferences and features that the result is a mediocre piece of software that makes doing anything frustrating. In my opinion, feature creep is motivating programmers and designers to start thinking in a different way.
Probably best conveyed in the book "Getting Real" by 37Signals, the idea of doing less better is (I believe) starting to take hold among more and more web application developers. Rather than seeing apps that offer a ton of features, none of which work terribly well, developers are focusing more on creating apps that do less better. In addition, a focus on interoperability is also good, so that these new applications can work with other applications to get the job done. For example, rather than having to create a photo management system for a customer contact application, that application could integrate with Flickr to take advantage of their application.
By doing this, the developers can spend their time ensuring that the core focus (in this example customer contact management) gets their attention and works well, rather than creating a sub-par photo management system and a mediocre contact manager.
Either way, I thought I would put up a post about "feature creep", since it is something that I try to be aware of. Admittedly, it can be hard to avoid, especially in the interest of making people happy.
As a side note, I mentioned the book "Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier way to Build a Successful Web Application" by 37Signals above. I highly recommend this book, not only to web developers and programmers, but also to business owners and entrepreneurs. It's one of those books that contains great advice for everyone.
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