Users Only Care About 20% of Your Application The Excel Revelations By Ibrahim Diallo | Published 3 days ago | ~6 minutes read --- Personal Story with Excel As a kid with limited disk space, the author learned the hard way to not delete .ini files, which caused the computer to fail. His father used Microsoft Excel extensively, though the author initially thought Excel’s main purpose was just to create tables for Word. Many Excel users focus on different features based on personal needs, highlighting how diverse user priorities can be. Everyone’s Different 20% Most users only ever utilize about 20% of an application's features, but each user uses a different 20%. Examples: Word users draft without using mail merge. Excel users may focus on pivot tables or scripting but not both. PowerPoint users may never animate objects. Additional features often frustrate users who feel their essential 20% is buried or slowed down by bloat. The Search for Perfect Results The problem of only partial satisfaction extends beyond Microsoft—Google Search, for instance, sometimes frustrates users wanting exact keyword matches. Power users represent a small percentage but are numerous enough to form a substantial market. Vlad Prelovac's search engine Kagi targets these neglected power users by delivering more precise, quality results without ads or tracking. Finding Your Neglected Slice Disruptive companies succeed by serving neglected user segments exceptionally well: Figma focuses on collaborative design better than Adobe. Notion blends note-taking and database features uniquely for teams. As software grows complex, users look for alternatives better tailored to their specific 20%. Open-source software allows custom builds optimized for particular workflows (e.g., architecture-focused Blender). Building for the Right 20% VS Code exemplifies this: a lean base editor that users extend with personalized plugins to suit their unique needs. Similarly, Slack and Discord offer platforms that invite users to create customized experiences with integrations and bots. Developers should design systems enabling users to find, shape, and enhance their own “20%” rather than trying to predict their needs. --- Core Message Trying to build software that appeals to every user for every feature leads to bloat and frustration. Instead, accept that users only care about part of the product and focus on making that part great. Embrace diversity in usage; quality and customization for individual workflows is liberating. By doing so, you create something users truly love, even if you don’t know exactly which parts beforehand. --- Related Articles In the Age of AI, Don't Forget About System 2 – Navigating tech solutions for daily challenges. Vibe Coding – How AI-generated codebases challenge traditional development. Vibe Managing: The Future of Project Leadership – Embracing new paradigms of management with AI. --- About the Author Ibrahim Diallo writes about software, technology, and productivity. He invites readers to learn more about him and follow his work on Twitter, YouTube, and Spotify. --- Engagement Readers are encouraged to share comments and subscribe to the newsletter for updates. Support the blog via Ko-fi for continued insights. --- This article emphasizes the importance of focusing software development on the meaningful features relevant to individual users and embracing customization rather than trying to cater universally.