I love lean products
There is a returning trend which might seem like just another take on “minimalism” at the first glance. Taking a closer look at it, however, uncovers that it is more sophisticated.
I am talking about lean products, the ones that don’t have a gazillion options to choose from. The ones that don’t try to do everything at once.
Just one single purpose.
It can be a note taking app without synchronisation with the calendar, ability to add 3 different types of tags and no way to convert the view between calendar and kanban mode.
It could be a radio, which simply plays radio. No way to record, connect 10 types of accessories over 3 different types of interfaces.
You get the idea.
On the first glance it might seem limiting. “But what if I need this feature it lacks it?”
Well, what if you don’t? What if going through the catalog of all of the features wastes your time and energy. Ultimately, makes you enjoy the product less?
The hard thing about lean products is to know what to remove and what to keep. But this is a philosophical problem, related to the art rather than engineering.
How many strokes is too much? At which point the painting becomes worse?