The concept of “feature creep” describes some companies’ tendency to devote untold energy to creating new products at a rate that does not match consumer needs/wants. In combination with the endowment effect, where consumers overvalue the products they already know and use, and loss aversion, where consumers subconsciously do not want to lose the products they already love, consumers often are unenthused and sometimes even bothered by feature creeping. Also, building and maintaining unnecessary new products is expensive both in financial terms and human capital terms. To avoid this trap, product managers can set clear roadmaps far in advance, always with reliance on actual consumer data. They can set boundaries with executives and other people who may be pushing for unnecessary new products. They can also remind themselves often of the core values of the company to ensure that new products are not veering too far off course.
