What is Feature Creep and Why does it Eat 12% of Your Product Development Budget?

Feature creep, also known as "scope creep," occurs when new features are continually added to a product beyond its original scope, often without proper consideration of their impact on the project's timeline, cost, and quality.

How Does Feature Creep Create Business Challenges?

1. Project Delays: Adding new features often extends the development timeline, delaying the product launch and reducing the company's ability to respond quickly to market needs.
2. Increased Costs: Each additional feature requires resources for development, testing, and integration, leading to budget overruns.
3. Complexity and Bugs: More features increase the complexity of the product, raising the likelihood of software bugs and reducing overall product stability.
4. User Confusion: Overloading a product with features can overwhelm users, leading to a poor user experience and decreased satisfaction.
5. Diminished Core Functionality: The focus on adding features can divert attention from refining the product's core functionalities, ultimately compromising its primary value proposition.