Removing features might be improving your service.

When we started working on Fernand, we had this list of features we wanted to implement, things that were obvious we needed to have.

One such thing was the notification system, which included the use of the Browser Notification in order for our users to be notified even when they aren't actively using Fernand.

So we implemented it and made a nice UI with toggles for each type of notification:

It made sense, initially, to offer as many features as we could on all fronts.

But with all UI and UX decisions we make for Fernand, we set back and think about what they bring to our users, and how they align with our vision.

What we came to realize is that having an all-time active way to notify our users about incoming tickets, new messages, and activities that required their attention, was NOT aligned with the vision of calm and stress-free we want to provide.

We don't want our users to be attacked every time a new ticket arrives, occupying their memory and forcing them to stop whatever productive things they were doing to focus on that latest ticket.

That's why we decided to completely remove the browser notification integration. We feel that having notifications via email is the calmest way we can do, allowing our users to work asynchronously. They are notified when they want to be notified: when they are checking their emails, and not when they are in the zone, working.

So now, why am I sharing this here? There are two things we learned from this, that I want to share with you.

First, it's not necessary to implement all the features like the others (ie, competitors) do. You can stand out by removing features, more importantly if they reflect your vision.

And second, it's important to take time to think through all the features you implement - and how you implement them. I agree it's hard to anticipate properly how your customer will use your service (and that's what the MVP is for), but taking time to view your product the way a user would do - and not just in the technical way you are building it - will make your users love your product even more.

Of course, it would have been better if we had not implemented the browser notifications in the first place, but well, nobody's perfect ;)

I hope this helped. What do you think?