10 Best Practices for Feature Request Tracking 2024

Here's a quick guide to managing feature requests effectively:

1. Use one central location for all requests
2. Set up a clear submission process
3. Sort and label requests systematically
4. Rank requests by importance
5. Keep users informed of progress
6. Link requests to product roadmaps
7. Use data to drive decisions
8. Foster cross-team collaboration
9. Gather feedback and iterate
10. Automate where possible

This guide covers collecting, organizing, prioritizing and implementing feature requests to improve your product and satisfy users. Follow these practices to streamline your process and make better product decisions.

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1. Use One Place for All Feature Requests

Create a Single Storage Point

Keep all feature requests in one place. This can be a digital tool, spreadsheet, or board. Make sure everyone knows where to find and add requests.

Having one storage point helps:

• Prevent lost requests
• Reduce confusion
• Save time
• Track progress from start to finish

Benefits of Keeping Requests Together

Software for Tracking in One Place

Here are some tools to help teams manage feature requests:

These tools can make managing feature requests easier and more organized.

2. Set Up a Clear Submission Process

Make a Feature Request Form

Create a simple form for users to submit feature requests. This form should ask for key information about the new feature idea.

Here's what a good feature request form should include:

Important Details to Ask For

When making your form, ask users for these key points:

• Clear title
• Full description
• Any helpful files or pictures
• How it will make the product better
• How urgent they think it is

Keep Forms Simple but Complete

Make sure your form is easy to use. Don't ask for too much information, or people might not want to fill it out. Focus on getting the most important details about the feature idea.

3. Sort and Label Requests

Create a Labeling System

Sorting feature requests helps manage them better. A good labeling system makes it easy to find and work on requests. Here's how to make one:

• Pick standard labels: Use simple labels like "new feature" or "bug fix"
• Group labels: Put labels in groups, like "user interface" under "new feature"
• Add tags: Use extra tags to give more details about each request

Types of Labels to Use

Here are some common labels for feature requests:

Using Labels to Find Requests Quickly

Labels help you find requests fast. Here's how:

• Search: Look for specific labels in your tracking tool
• Make filters: Set up quick views for certain types of requests
• Use dashboards: See all your labeled requests in one place

4. Rank Requests by Importance

How to Decide What's Most Important

When picking which feature requests to work on first, think about:

• How many users want it
• How hard it is to make
• If it fits with your company's plans
• If it will make money or save costs
• If it will make customers happy
• If it will help you beat other companies

Looking at these things helps you choose the best features to work on.

Match User Wants with Business Needs

To make sure you're working on things that users want and that help your business:

1. Look at what users are saying
2. See how user ideas fit with your business goals
3. Pick the best ideas that help both users and your business
4. Tell users why you picked certain ideas

This way, you work on things that make users and your business happy.

Ways to Score and Rank Requests

Here are some ways to figure out which requests are most important:

These methods help you pick which feature requests to work on first.

5. Keep Users in the Loop

Let Users Know You Got Their Request

When users send in a feature request, tell them you got it right away. This shows you care about what they think. You can:

• Send a quick email
• Show a message in your app

Doing this:

• Makes users feel heard
• Tells them what happens next
• Gets users to keep sharing ideas

Give Updates on Request Progress

Tell users how their requests are coming along. This builds trust. You can update users through:

• Emails
• App messages
• Public plans
• User forums

When you update, include:

• Where the request is now
• When you might finish it
• Any changes to the original idea

Keeping users informed:

• Shows you're working on their ideas
• Helps users know what to expect
• Makes users feel part of the team

Ask for More Details When Needed

Sometimes, you need more info about a request. When this happens, ask users for help. This shows you want to get things right.

When asking for more info:

• Say exactly what you need
• Tell users how to send more details
• Answer user questions quickly

Asking for more details:

• Helps you build the right thing
• Shows users you care about their ideas
• Gets users to give better feedback

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6. Link Requests to Product Plans

Fit Requests into Overall Product Goals

When adding feature requests to product plans, make sure they match your product's main goals. This helps keep your product focused and easy to use.

To do this:

• Check if the request fits your product's big picture
• Think about how it will make users happy
• Look at how much work it will take

This way, you pick features that help both your product and your users.

Add Requests to Development Schedules

After picking the best requests, put them in your work plans. This means adding them to your product timeline and giving them to your team to work on.

Here's how to do it:

Doing this helps make sure important features get made on time.

Tell Everyone About Product Plan Choices

Let people know which features you're working on and why. This includes your team, users, and anyone else involved.

Ways to share your plans:

• Show a public timeline of what you're working on
• Give regular updates on how things are going
• Explain why you chose some features over others

7. Use Data to Make Better Decisions

Important Numbers to Watch

When tracking feature requests, some key numbers can help you understand what users want and how well you're managing features. Here are the main ones to watch:

Looking at these numbers helps you spot patterns and make smart choices.

Making Choices Based on Data

Using data to make decisions helps you pick the best features to work on. When you look at the data, you can find:

• Common requests: See what many users are asking for
• What users like and don't like: Understand user needs better
• Features that fit your business goals: Pick features that help your company grow

Using this information helps you make choices that make users happy and help your business.

Tools for Looking at Request Data

To understand feature request data better, you can use these tools:

These tools make it easier to collect and understand data about feature requests.

8. Get All Teams Working Together

Getting different teams to work together helps manage feature requests better. When teams share ideas, they can make better choices about what features to add.

Include Different Departments

Getting input from various teams can improve feature requests. Each team brings different knowledge:

When teams share what they know, they can pick features that users like and that help the business.

Set Up Meetings Between Teams

Regular meetings help teams work together. In these meetings, teams can:

• Share ideas
• Talk about what's important
• Agree on goals

For example, a company might have meetings every two weeks to look at feature requests. This helps teams make good choices and feel responsible for the features they build.

Keep Developers and Customer Teams Talking

It's important for developers and customer teams to talk often. This helps make sure the features work well for users. Here's how to do it:

When developers understand what users want, they can build better features. And when customer teams know what's being built, they can tell users what to expect.

9. Ask for Feedback and Make Changes

Get User Opinions on New Features

After adding new features, it's important to ask users what they think. Here's how to do it:

• Use short surveys in your app
• Add feedback forms
• Ask users right after they try a new feature

This helps you understand if users like the feature and what needs to be better.

Improve Features Based on User Comments

Listening to users helps make features better. Here's what to do:

1. Look at what users say
2. Find common problems
3. Make changes to fix these problems

For example, if many users say a feature is hard to use, you might need to make it simpler.

Keep Improving How You Handle Requests

Always try to get better at handling feature requests. Here are some tips:

10. Use Automation Where It Helps

Find Tasks That Can Be Automated

Look for tasks you do often in feature request tracking. These are good for automation:

• Data Entry: Let computers add new requests to your system
• Status Updates: Send automatic messages when a request changes
• Feedback Collection: Use automatic surveys to ask users what they think

Automating these jobs gives your team more time for important work.

Tools to Make Work Easier

Here are some tools that can help with automation:

These tools can help you do less manual work and keep things running smoothly.

Mix Automation with Human Checks

While computers can do a lot, people are still important. Here's how to use both:

• Check Often: Look at your automated systems regularly to make sure they still work well
• Talk to Users: Have team members speak with users to understand complex feedback
• Combine Information: Use both computer data and human ideas to make better choices

This way, you get the speed of automation and the understanding of people.

Conclusion

Quick Review of Best Practices

Let's go over the main points for good feature request tracking:

How Feature Request Tracking Changes

Feature request tracking needs to change as users and markets change. Check your methods often to make sure they still work well. Ask users and your team what they think, and be ready to try new ways of doing things. This helps you stay ahead and make users happy.

Keep Making Your Process Better

Always try to make your feature request tracking better. Here's how:

• Look at how you're doing things now
• Ask users what they think
• Use what you learn to make changes

By doing these things, you can:

• Make a system that works well for users
• Come up with new ideas for your product
• Make users want to keep using your product

FAQs

How to organize feature requests?

To organize feature requests well:

1. Keep everything in one place

• Use a tool or spreadsheet to store all requests
• Makes it easy to find and check ideas

2. Set up a clear system

• Make a form for users to fill out
• Ask for key details about each request
• Tell users you value their ideas

3. Sort and rank requests

• Use labels to group similar requests
• Decide which features are most important
• Look at how urgent each request is and how many users want it

How to manage feature requests?

To handle feature requests well:

1. Create a main list

• Put all requests in one spot
• Makes sure you don't miss any ideas

2. Answer every request

• Reply to users quickly
• Be honest about what you can do
• Shows users you care about their input

3. Group and pick top requests

• Sort requests by how much they can help
• Check if they fit with your business plans
• Talk to your team about which features to work on first

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