How to Simplify Legacy SaaS Features and Scale Your Product: A Framework for Product Managers
If you’re a PM working with a legacy SaaS platform, you’re likely familiar with the challenge: your product is bloated, your features are outdated, and complexity has spiralled out of control. You know the product needs simplification, but finding a framework to tackle this can feel like a daunting task. I’ve been there—and after trial and error, I’ve developed a process that can help turn convoluted features into streamlined, user-friendly systems that scale.
The reality is, many B2B SaaS companies never tackle this head-on. As a result, they find themselves unable to scale. When you can’t simplify and scale your product, you limit your ability to scale your business. Complexity makes maintenance harder, frustrates your users, and eventually stalls growth.
If this sounds familiar, keep reading. I’m going to share a framework that’s worked for me to simplify legacy features and help your product (and business) scale effectively. It’s time to start treating simplification as a must, not a nice-to-have.
Why Simplifying Features is Essential for Growth
First, let's address why simplifying complex SaaS platforms is crucial. Over time, legacy features accumulate so much complexity that they’re difficult to maintain, improve, or even use effectively. This creates two major problems:
Increased Maintenance Costs: Complex features drain resources because they require more maintenance and support. Your team spends time fixing, patching, and managing instead of innovating.
Stunted Growth: If your product is too convoluted, new users will struggle to adopt it, and existing users may abandon it. Without simplification, scaling your system and product becomes nearly impossible—and if you can’t scale your product, you can’t scale your business.
So how do we solve this? By implementing a structured process to reduce complexity while ensuring that your product delivers maximum value to users.
The Simplification Framework: A Step-by-Step Guide
This framework breaks down complex systems into manageable, simplified components while maintaining the integrity of the product. The goal is to streamline functionality and align your product with core business needs.
Step 1: Identify the Essentials
Start by determining what’s truly necessary for your product to function. Many features and actions within a system are “nice-to-have” but not essential.
Ask Yourself: What are the main use cases that this feature supports? Which actions are required for the user to complete the use case successfully?
Action Plan: List all use cases for the feature. Break down every user action associated with those use cases. Categorise each action as Essential, Good-to-Have, or Non-Essential. If it doesn’t support a core function, it’s likely non-essential.
Pro Tip: This step often reveals a lot of unnecessary complexity. Features that seemed important may be rarely used or don't directly contribute to your business goals.
Step 2: Reduce the Noise
Noise is the clutter of non-essential features that confuse users and complicate your product. Applying the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle can help eliminate unnecessary elements.
Ask Yourself: Does this feature or functionality directly support the main user goal? Can this functionality be simplified or removed without negatively impacting the user experience?
Action Plan: Remove or hide non-essential features. Make incremental simplifications where possible—sometimes reducing one step in a workflow can lead to a huge impact.
Pro Tip: If you’re unsure whether to remove a feature, release it in Beta with a subset of users first to gauge how critical it is to their experience.
Step 3: Use Abstraction and Decomposition
Once you’ve reduced the noise, it’s time to break down the system into smaller, more manageable modules. This is where abstraction and decomposition come in.
Decomposition: Split your complex system into sub-components or modules that each serve a clear, specific function. Simplify them so they can be independently developed, understood, and maintained.
Abstraction: Abstract away details that aren't necessary for users or other teams to interact with. Focus on the core functionality.
Action Plan: Break each feature into smaller modules or components with a singular focus. Ensure that each component can be developed, tested, and delivered independently.
When to Stop Decomposing:
When the component is Understandable to all stakeholders.
When it’s Manageable by a small team or individual.
When it’s Testable as a standalone component.
Pro Tip: Regularly ask yourself, "Can we break this down further?" This mindset is key to successful decomposition.
Step 4: Test and Iterate
Simplification is an iterative process. Once you’ve created the new, simplified version of a feature, it’s crucial to test it with users and gather feedback.
Action Plan: Build a Prototype of the simplified feature. Conduct User Testing to ensure that the new version solves user pain points without introducing new complexity. Use feedback to iterate and further refine the feature.
Pro Tip: Release the simplified feature in Beta to manage user expectations and gather actionable insights before fully rolling it out.
Step 5: Apply System Thinking
Simplification doesn’t exist in a vacuum. After simplifying individual features, it’s time to evaluate the system as a whole. This is where system thinking comes into play.
Ask Yourself: How does this feature interact with the rest of the system? Will simplifying one part of the product create new complexities elsewhere? How will these changes affect user workflows and the overall product experience?
Action Plan: Assess how each simplified feature interacts with others. Address any interdependencies or potential new complexities before the full rollout. Ensure that the new, simplified features align with your overall product strategy.
Pro Tip: Simplifying too aggressively without considering system interdependencies can lead to more problems. Always consider the bigger picture.
Scaling Through Simplification
By applying this framework, you’re not just simplifying your product—you’re setting it up for scalable growth. Simplification helps create a more user-friendly experience, reduces maintenance overhead, and clears the path for innovation. This process will give you the structure you need to communicate effectively with stakeholders, gain buy-in, and drive meaningful product improvements.
Many B2B SaaS companies fail to do this, and as a result, their products become too difficult to maintain or scale. Complexity snowballs, teams become overburdened with maintenance, and the business struggles to grow. Don’t let this happen to your product.
Key Takeaways for PMs:
Identify the Essentials: Start by understanding what truly matters in your product.
Reduce the Noise: Use the KISS principle to remove unnecessary complexity.
Decompose and Abstract: Break features into smaller, independent components.
Iterate and Test: Use user feedback to refine your simplifications.
Apply System Thinking: Ensure your changes work cohesively within the larger product ecosystem.
This framework can serve as your guide to tackling complexity, streamlining features, and driving growth. If you simplify your product, you’ll not only make it more usable—you’ll make it scalable, which is the key to long-term business success.
What techniques have worked for you when simplifying complex products? Share your thoughts and experiences below!
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