What Is Feature Creep?
If a product has a tendency to exceed its requirements as compared to its original estimations, the phenomenon is known as scope creep or feature creep. The product which is to be released in the market is designed to be introduced with new additional features by the support engineers so that the product becomes more useful and enjoyable for the user. Feature creep can mainly happen when the client of the project keeps on adding the wishes to the already-mentioned list of his requirements. There are many drawbacks in feature creep, like it can delay the release date and time of the product, which causes problems for executives of the companies and the rise in the overall budget of the product. So feature creep should be avoided by companies because it ultimately weakens a product with additional unneeded features which only seem to be interesting.
Feature creep can be avoided with the help of an organized project team which tightly follows the actual requirements of the project and work to meet these requirements. A project manager is assigned to the project team which helps the team to refocus on the situation of feature creep and he also deals with the client by reminding him the original objectives of the project. Feature creep is sometimes necessary when engineers are exploring new concepts with large projects. To implement feature creep, different members of project team should help in controlling and evaluating the project from time to time; to obtain valid results of the direction in which the project is moving.
The feature creep is often seen in software development companies. Software engineers always work and develop new ways to improve their product; this can be highly beneficial in a controlled situation. A project manager can control the feature creep by conducting frequent project meetings so that the goals of the project (which were decided in the beginning) and the progress of the project can be discussed. While developing a new product, the project team should discuss its goals, estimations and the features of the product so that all the members know their work and they should agree to work on it to accomplish the goals stated. This will help to avoid the situation of feature creep.
Sometimes people think that controlling feature creep may kill the creativity of an engineer. This is not true; rather reports should be prepared by the team members about the new ideas useful for the project. These reports should be submitted along with the project reports which help in discussing the idea with all the team members and if the feature seems to be interesting and vital to all, it can be added to the existing project or the later versions of the project.
Category: Technology