Simplicity and ease of use takes time, discipline, and a fanatical (and at times uncomfortable) focus. It requires developing, refining, and cutting more than adding. It requires the discipline to say “no”, the discipline to walk away from bad calls and easy money, and the time to refine and hone something from just another crazy idea into scalable beloved product.
Design debt. Product bloat. 12 month roadmaps in conditions of extreme uncertainty. These are the signs and symptoms of misunderstood user problems, detached and overly grand solutions, and a culture that prioritizes delivery over value, answers over results, and a focus on the press releases and roadmaps over happy customers.
It’s not how much you deliver but the quality and effectiveness of the product you deliver to customers and users that separates good from great products and companies.