Feature bequest

Something I’ve noticed over the years of developing software is that often users will request features they don’t actually want.

“If only the software had this feature, I’d use it.”

What the user is saying is really “I don’t like your software, and somehow I feel I have to justify it by claiming it lacks feature X.”

And as product developers and entrepreneurs we take the statement at face-value and assume “if we add feature X, that user will suddenly start using our software.”

Rarely has a non-user of any software product ever actually refused to use the software because it lacked a certain feature.