Feature Risk
Feature Risks are types of risks to do with functionality that you need to have in the software you're building.
Feature Risk is very fundamental: if your project has no Feature Risk it would be perfect! And we all know that can't happen.
As a rule of thumb, Feature Risk exists in the gaps between what users want, and what they are given.
Not considering Feature Risk means that you might be building the wrong functionality, for the wrong audience or at the wrong time. Eventually, this will come down to lost money, business, acclaim, or whatever you are doing your project for. So let's unpack this concept into some of its variations.
Feature Risks are a family of risks you face any time you start trying to build functionality to serve a client. In this article, we will:
- Break down and talk about the main different types of Feature Risks on software projects.
- Discuss how they occur and what action you can take to address them.
- Analyse the family of feature risks along three axes of fit, audience and change.
Types Of Feature Risk
Feature Fit Risk
Risk that the needs of the client don't coincide with services provided by the supplier.
Implementation Risk
Risk that the functionality you are providing doesn't match the features the client is expecting, due to poor or partial implementation.
Conceptual Integrity Risk
Risk that the software you provide is too complex, or doesn't match the expectations of your clients' internal models.
Market Risk
Risk that the value your clients place on the features you supply will change, over time.
Feature Access Risk
Risk of not being able to access a dependency in a timely fashion due to it's scarcity.
Regression Risk
Risk that the functionality you provide changes for the worse, over time.
Feature Drift Risk
Risk that the features required by clients will change and evolve over time.