Product Features that Don’t Fit

Last week I was working in a web-based product and I came across a feature that didn’t fit. By didn’t fit I mean that it felt out of place and there’s no way it’s potentially usable by 80% of the users. I’d be amazed if more than 1% of the customers have ever used it — it’s that out of place.

How did the feature get in the product? Here are a few guesses:

• It was such an easy feature that it got in the product and out the door before it occurred to product management that is wasn’t a good idea
• A client had a problem and this was support’s idea to help that one client (even though it wasn’t applicable to other clients)
• Someone with a strong personality (a sales rep?) convinced others that it was a good idea to help close a new customer

Much like a supertaster who picks up on disproportionate flavors in food, strong product managers quickly reject features that don’t fit. Do you have features in your product that don’t fit?

What else? What are some other reasons features that don’t fit get into products?