When to Say No to a Feature

Features are liabilities, not assets

A shipped feature is code to maintain, a surface to secure, a path to test, and a concept a new user has to learn. Its cost is paid every day; its value is often paid once. That asymmetry should make the default answer “not yet”.

Three questions before you build

Does this move a metric we agreed matters? Can we remove something to make room for it? Will we still want to run it in two years? If the answer to any is no, the feature usually belongs in the backlog, not the sprint.