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There is a lot of talk about the concept of a "Usability Bubble". This refers to a larger circle that refers to the features and a smaller circle inside of it that represents the features that the users use. The less empty space between the edges of the two circles the better.
So you have Features
And you want the amount of features that users use to almost fill it.
I'm a big believer that one of the greatest selling products in the world would be a cell phone that fits comfortably in the palm of the hand with buttons that are easy to push that only gets cell phone calls and text messages. (And I'm still not to sure about text messages).
I'm a big believer in getting a firm mental picture of the users too; how old, what other tools they use, where they shop and so on. The more complete the picture the better. Then create the anti-user: the person who others target. It might sounds strange, but if you are targeting Linux users then Windows users are your anti users. These are the people that you need to take out of the equation because by trying to make those people happy you will be adding features that no one wants or alienating your REAL target audience.
If you are designing a program for the average home user, don't put in features that only professional power users demand. While people might brag about how many features the program has, they will be much more likely to use the software that does exactly what they want in the way they want to use it and not much more.
And there is still the matter of the hammer...
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