[nobbyclark]

> I just don't understand how it even gets developed in the first place, if they don't have a small team to continue working on it post-release.

From talking to PMs at Google, they have exactly this problem. Engineers are free to pick and choose what they work on.As soon as a product is released, hits "1.0", and the engineers have claimed whatever kudos they can, they move on to the "next big thing", leaving the PM alone with the product. That leads to situations where PMs can't even get basics like localizations to specifics countries / languages.

[kingkawn]

This sounds like a microcosm of the market. Engineers/investors want the largest possible returns on their capital, so they chase projects with the largest potential. This makes for big splashes and little follow through, even on things that the customer population has as core needs for the overall company. Welcome to capitalism.