It is the dream of every PM to come up with a bold UX innovation that gets praise, and many believe the gospel that the software is better at figuring out what the customer wants than the customer is. And you get extra points these days for using ML.
The second points are valid, IMO, but the first... I think this is simplistic.
First, there aren't a ton of example of software products succeeding by staying still for long. Not none, but not a ton. Even fewer, if you define success commercially. In CD days, version upgrades were often an indispensable part of the business model.
These days, apps exist in multiple device world. Big chunks of it are server based. SAAS, which most everything is to some extent, has its own business imperatives. Iphoto deals with a mostly iphone world today. The Economist, like most magazines, is trying to figure app how a software based magazine business works.
It seems naive to blame the PM. Constant change isn't a thing because PMs have egos. There's a big hairy dynamic at play. Not changing doesn't seem to be an option, in recent years, maybe ever.
The second points are valid, IMO, but the first... I think this is simplistic.
First, there aren't a ton of example of software products succeeding by staying still for long. Not none, but not a ton. Even fewer, if you define success commercially. In CD days, version upgrades were often an indispensable part of the business model.
These days, apps exist in multiple device world. Big chunks of it are server based. SAAS, which most everything is to some extent, has its own business imperatives. Iphoto deals with a mostly iphone world today. The Economist, like most magazines, is trying to figure app how a software based magazine business works.
It seems naive to blame the PM. Constant change isn't a thing because PMs have egos. There's a big hairy dynamic at play. Not changing doesn't seem to be an option, in recent years, maybe ever.