A few week ago, I am building a feature for my Product FindCoffeeMate.
It was called “Recently Active Developers.”
The idea sounded great.
When users landed on the homepage, they’d immediately see developers who were recently active on the platform. We thought it would encourage more profile visits, connection requests, and conversations.
From an engineering perspective, everything was done.
The API worked.
The UI looked clean.
The loading states were smooth.
There were no bugs.
It was ready to be part of the next release.
Then we paused.
Before moving on to the next feature, our team decided to use the app the way a new user would.
We landed on the homepage, explored a few profiles, searched for developers with specific skills, sent connection requests, and started conversations.
Only later did we realize something.
None of us had interacted with the “Recently Active Developers” section.
Not because it was broken.
We simply didn’t need it to accomplish what we came to do.
That small observation led to a much bigger discussion.
Were we solving a real user problem, or were we just adding another section because it looked like a good idea?
The more we talked about it, the clearer the answer became.
The feature worked exactly as intended.
It just didn’t make the product better.
So we removed it.
Deleting working code isn’t easy.
As engineers, it’s natural to become attached to the things we’ve built. Every feature represents hours of planning, coding, testing, and refining.
But keeping a feature simply because we’ve already invested time in it isn’t good Product Engineering.
Every feature has a cost.
It needs to be tested, maintained, documented, and supported as the product grows.
If users don’t get value from it, that cost never goes away.
Working on FindCoffeeMate has changed how I think as both a Frontend Developer and a Full Stack Developer.
Earlier in my career, I measured success by one question:
“Does the feature work?”
Now I ask a different one:
“Does this feature make the product better?”
That shift has also given me a deeper appreciation for how a Product Ownerthinks. The best product decisions aren’t always about adding something new. Sometimes they’re about having the confidence to say, “This doesn’t add enough value, let’s keep the product simple.”
The feature never reached production.
And honestly, I’m glad it didn’t.
It reminded me that users don’t care how much effort went into building a feature.
They care whether it helps them achieve what they came to do.
Sometimes the best feature you’ll ever build is the one you decide not to ship.
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