Managing Feature Requests

One of the most significant advantages of working in a high-performing startup is the constant product feature requests and product feedback we get.

It’s fantastic receiving such rich feedback and awesome feature requests, but at the same time, processing hundreds of requests could be cumbersome, primarily because we had multiple channels open for feedback, namely:

• Emails
• WhatsApp Messages
• Slack Channels
• Phone Calls
• Meeting Notes

The other problem was where these requests were finally recorded, namely:

• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Jira Tickets
• Email Threads

Having various open channels and not having a consolidated feature request system led to chaos. Every Department has its own system to manage requests, making it next to impossible to identify customer pain points and everyday annoyances.

To fix this, we followed a three-step approach:

Step 1: Centralize

To centralize all the feature requests and the channels, we introduced a one-stop solution for this by asking the team members to raise new feature requests and feedback using the Jira Service Desk. 

It helped by saving time, managing feature requests, and also allowed us to identify recurring themes.

Step 2: Prioritize

The other challenge now was how do we prioritize which features we pick up first. We began to do a weekly run-through of the new feature requests and began to set priorities for the same. 

The priorities were set as followed:

High: Pick up Immediately
Medium: Pick up in upcoming Sprint
Low: Backlog for future Sprint

Step 3: Make it Visible 

Without visible communication, it’s hard to reassure the stakeholders that the features they asked for are on their way — lack of transparency can create unnecessary churn and brew stakeholder discontent. 

We started Publishing Sprint planning documents and release notes in the common slack channel. 

In addition to this, we also started giving Software Engineering and Product updates in our bi-weekly All-Hands meetings. 

Conclusion

As we continue to learn and make improvements to our process, we will continue to share our learnings and experiences here on the Nivoda Engineering blog!