Why psychological friction matters more than feature count in product development

Short summary

The author argues developers fall into a "feature trap," building capabilities users don't need while ignoring psychological friction—moments where the UI feels unresponsive or confusing. The fix is to map "dead air" in user sessions, audit loading states, and streamline the path to the app's core value. For AI-powered tools, managing LLM latency with streaming responses and step-by-step status updates is critical to preventing churn.

• •Prioritize fixing UX friction over shipping new features
• •Map 'dead air' moments and add visual feedback for every async operation
• •For AI tools, manage LLM latency with streaming and status updates rather than hiding it

Generated with AI, which can make mistakes.