How do you say no to a feature a paying user asked for?
Three customers asked for the same export. It is real money, and it pulls the product toward a reporting tool I did not set out to build. I do not want to be precious about the roadmap either.
Comments (8)
I would stay with "I do not want to be precious about the roadmap either" for the week already named. A quieter result is still a result.
Did the conversation in "Three customers asked for the same export" happen before the build, or only after it launched?
I would not rewrite the product from "It is real money, and it pulls the product toward a reporting tool I did not set out to build" alone. One narrower test this week would tell you more.
One change, then stop. Address "Three customers asked for the same export" and leave the rest of the product alone for a week.
Ask what they do with the export the next morning. If the answer is 'put it in a sheet the board never opens,' it can wait.
I shipped a manual version first. A CSV from a script, sent by email. Two of the three still needed it a month later. That was the signal.
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