Spot the warning signs of bloat that slow shipping and confuse users. Use safeguards to protect the core job-to-be-done and keep momentum.
Which early warning is most predictive of feature creep?
Scope expands without an explicit problem statement or success metric
Design reviews have mockups
Daily standups are short
Backlog items have IDs
What control best stops mid‑sprint additions from derailing outcomes?
Automatic approvals for quick wins
A change‑control policy with impact estimation and product sign‑off
Unlimited stakeholder requests
Louder status emails
Which prioritization rule protects core value in discovery?
Ship the longest‑requested feature first
Tie backlog items to a single customer job‑to‑be‑done and reject or park the rest
Favor executive requests by default
Accept anything that reduces churn
When should you add a power‑user feature to the core product?
When it demos well on stage
Only if it benefits the majority or can be isolated behind an advanced tier
Whenever a VIP asks
If engineering has a spike ready
Which metric best signals bloat in shipped UX?
More commits are merged
Design system has more tokens
Task completion rate drops while surface area increases
More menu items exist
What’s the most defensible rationale for cutting a shipped feature?
It underperforms against a defined success metric and confuses users
It wasn’t in the original pitch
It’s hard to maintain code‑wise
It annoyed one executive
Which ritual helps teams avoid creep during roadmap reviews?
Merge epics to look lean
Demo only wins
Skip user research summaries
Pre‑mortems that enumerate failure modes of adding scope
How should you handle stakeholder requests that are valid but off‑strategy?
Say yes and squeeze them in
Log them in a “parking lot” with revisit criteria tied to metrics
Convert them into quick UI tweaks
Ignore them silently
Which statement about MVP vs. ‘ship it all’ is most accurate?
More features always increase retention
A smaller surface that nails the core job beats a broad set that confuses adoption
Delight equals more options
Breadth is a substitute for quality
What is the cleanest exit criterion for a feature proposal?
Positive internal sentiment
Evidence that it improves a target metric in experiment or pilot
High estimated story points
Alignment with brand adjectives
Starter
Build your foundation for this topic and practice the core moves.
Solid
Good grasp—tighten your analysis and sharpen evidence.
Expert!
Outstanding mastery—your value stories and pricing stand up to scrutiny.
