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Please Don’t Screw It Up

1 February 2011

Those are the five words that come into my head each and every time I see the little red badge on the App Store app — the one that tells iPhone users that an app update or two are available.

Some people feel that new features make software better. For me, though, it’s more of a coin toss: new features have a good chance of making my favourite software worse.

I’m sometimes asked why I don’t update Put Things Off every two-to-four weeks like some developers do. It’s because, for every 100 people who email new feature requests each week, I’m pretty sure there are a thousand more who don’t email me; a thousand cheerful souls who are happy with the app as it is.

Whenever I think about adding a new feature, I think about the 1,000 happy customers. I imagine them holding their breath when that little red badge shows up, wincing as they open the app, and praying that I haven’t screwed it up. Sometimes, the little changes that benefit the vocal few aren’t worth the stress and upheaval they might cause the silent many.