What is the Feature Creep Guillotine?
The Feature Creep Guillotine applies the Pareto principle to software development: 80% of your development time will be consumed by 20% of your features. The tool uses AI to identify exactly which features fall into that 20% — and gives you the data to cut them without guilt.
Every developer and product manager knows the feeling: a project that seemed manageable at the planning stage balloons into a multi-month ordeal. The culprit is almost never the core features — it's the "just one more thing" additions that carry hidden complexity.
Why projects don't ship
Feature creep kills more software projects than technical debt, bad architecture, or team conflict combined. The pattern is consistent:
1. You plan a reasonable set of features 2. Each feature looks simple on the surface 3. Implementation reveals nested complexity: auth edge cases, API rate limits, mobile compatibility, error states, admin interfaces 4. Timeline doubles, motivation drops, the project dies
**Common time-sink features disguised as "simple":** - User role management (looks simple, involves complex permission trees) - File uploads (storage, processing, CDN, previews, virus scanning) - Real-time features (WebSockets, fallbacks, reconnection logic) - Search functionality (indexing, ranking, filters, pagination) - Email notifications (templates, deliverability, unsubscribe flows) - Mobile responsiveness for complex interactions - Third-party integrations (OAuth, webhooks, versioning)
How to use
1. Write a brief description of what you're building 2. List your planned features — one per line or as a bullet list 3. Select your project type and team size 4. Click "Run the Guillotine" and let the AI analyze your list 5. Review the three categories: Must Ship, Cut These, and Defer to V2 6. Read the hidden complexity warnings carefully 7. Commit to the lean MVP summary before you start building
Understanding the verdict
**Must Ship** — These features are genuinely core to the product. Without them, you don't have a product worth shipping. These are non-negotiable.
**Cut These** — These features have hidden complexity that will consume disproportionate time. They may seem simple but involve authentication edge cases, third-party dependencies, mobile compatibility issues, or infinite polish rabbit holes. Cut them entirely from v1.
**Defer to V2** — These are good ideas that don't belong in the initial launch. They're not time-sinks per se, but they dilute focus and slow the critical path. Ship v1 first, add these later when you have real user feedback to validate them.
**Hidden Complexity Warnings** — Specific landmines in your feature list that aren't immediately obvious. Read these carefully — they often reveal that a feature you thought was trivial is actually a multi-week project.
FAQs
Q: Should I always follow the AI's recommendations? A: Use them as a starting point for discussion, not a final verdict. The AI applies general software development heuristics. Your specific context — team expertise, existing infrastructure, customer commitments — may justify keeping some "cut" features.
Q: What if the AI cuts a feature my users specifically asked for? A: That's important signal. If a feature was specifically requested by paying customers or is in a signed contract, override the AI's recommendation. The tool is most useful for features that came from internal "wouldn't it be cool if..." discussions.
Q: How specific should my feature list be? A: More specific gives better results. "User management" is vague. "Users can invite team members via email, set roles (admin/viewer/editor), and see an activity log" gives the AI enough detail to identify the real complexity.
Q: What is the 80/20 rule in software development? A: The Pareto principle applied to development suggests that approximately 80% of your development time will be consumed by roughly 20% of your features — typically those with hidden complexity, edge cases, or infrastructure requirements. Identifying and cutting those features early is the most leveraged thing you can do to ensure a project ships.
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