The line of good enough

All products and services have features that users value (a utility curve) and the combination of these features determines the differentiation of the product.

But innovation shows that you can have too much of a good thing. Eventually adding more of a feature gives the user no more value. For example, a car that has a higher top speed than motorways speeds provides no value.

This is the line of good enough. The line at which adding more has no effect.

Video game graphics in the early days were not good enough, people were willing to pay for better consoles with better graphics. But now, can you tell the difference between the last generation of consoles and the current? Have computer graphics become good enough?

Innovating to improve features more than “good enough” is overserving the customer, the user gains no value and it opens the door for a new product / service that has less and is a better fit to the customers needs.