10 Strategies for Managing Feature Requests in 2024

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

1. Use a central system to collect and track requests
2. Create a clear submission process
3. Prioritize requests systematically
4. Involve different teams in decision-making
5. Allow users to vote on features
6. Review requests regularly
7. Keep users informed about progress
8. Utilize AI and automation for efficiency
9. Gather feedback on new features
10. Maintain detailed records of decisions

These strategies help teams manage requests efficiently, make smart choices, and keep customers happy. By implementing these approaches, you can improve your product development process and drive business growth.

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What Are Feature Requests?

Feature requests are ideas from users or team members to add new things, make existing parts better, or fix problems in a software product. These requests help teams understand what users want and need.

Types of Requests

There are three main types of feature requests:

Where Requests Come From

Feature requests can come from different places:

• Customers who use the product
• Team members (developers, sales, marketing, support)
• Market research and competitor analysis

How Requests Affect Development

Feature requests play a big role in shaping products. They help teams:

• Choose what to work on next
• Make customers happier
• Find ways to grow the business

1. Use a Central System for Requests

To handle feature requests well, start by setting up one main system to collect and track them. This makes it easier to sort, plan, and work on requests.

Setting Up a Central System

Create a place where all requests can be stored and managed. This could be a spreadsheet, a project tool, or a special feature request system. Pick one that's easy to use, can grow with your needs, and can be changed to fit your team.

When setting up your system:

• Make clear steps for sending in and tracking requests
• Create a standard way to ask for features
• Give team members specific jobs for managing requests
• Connect the system with other tools you use

Tools for Managing Requests

Here are some tools you can use to manage feature requests:

When picking a tool, think about how easy it is to use, if it can grow with you, how much you can change it, and if it works with your other tools.

2. Create a Clear Request Process

Setting up a simple way to submit feature requests helps everyone. It makes it easier to collect, sort, and work on ideas.

Make a Standard Request Form

Use a form that asks for key details about each request:

A good form helps teams understand and rank requests better.

Teach Users How to Submit

Show people the right way to ask for features. Give them:

• Examples of good requests
• Tips for clear writing
• Help on choosing priority levels
• Steps for adding files

This helps everyone send in better, more useful requests.

3. Use Methods to Rank Requests

Ranking feature requests helps teams decide what to work on first. Here are some ways to do this:

Common Ranking Methods

Match User Needs with Business Goals

When ranking requests, make sure they fit with what your business wants to do and what users need. Here's how:

• Use the methods above to score each request
• Think about how each request helps your business and users
• Group requests by user types to see who needs what most

Brian Mahlangu, VP of Product, says sorting requests by user types can show which groups need certain features most.

4. Include Different Teams

Getting many teams involved helps manage feature requests better. When different groups work together, it's easier to choose and build the right features. Let's look at how to do this.

What Each Team Does

Different teams have different jobs when looking at feature requests. Here's what they do:

Help Teams Work Together

To make sure teams work well together, try these tips:

• Meet often: Have regular talks about feature requests, what's important, and how to build them.
• Clear jobs: Make sure each team knows what they should do to avoid mix-ups.
• Talk openly: Encourage teams to share ideas and updates with each other.
• Use team tools: Pick software that helps teams work together and keep track of progress.

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5. Let Users Vote on Requests

Why Voting Helps

Letting users vote on feature requests is a good way to:

• Find out what most users want
• Make users feel heard
• Build trust with customers
• Help teams choose what to work on next

When users help pick features, they're more likely to use them later.

Keep Voting Fair

To make sure voting is fair for all users, try these tips:

6. Check Requests Often

Looking at feature requests regularly helps keep your product plans in line with what customers want and what's good for your business. This helps you spot trends, pick what's most important, and make smart choices.

Set Up Review Meetings

Have regular meetings with key team members, like product managers, developers, and customer support staff. In these meetings:

• Talk about new feature requests
• See if they're possible to build
• Choose which ones to work on first

Make sure everyone agrees on how to pick features and that decisions are clear and written down.

Find Common Themes

Look at feature requests to see what many people are asking for. This helps you:

• Understand what problems customers have
• Find ways to make your product better
• Come up with new ideas

Use data to group similar requests, find duplicates, and focus on what customers need most.

Change Your Product Plans

Use what you learn from these reviews to update your product plans. Make sure your plans:

• Match what customers want
• Follow market trends
• Help your business goals

Keep your product roadmap up to date so it fits what customers expect and focuses on building things that matter to users.

7. Keep Users Informed

Tell users about their feature requests and how they're coming along.

Update Users Often

Let users know what's happening with their requests:

• Tell them about progress, even if it's small
• Build trust by keeping them in the loop
• Make sure they know you're working on their ideas

Ways to Share Updates

Use different tools to tell users what's new:

Pick the way that works best for your users and product.

Set Clear Timelines

Tell users when to expect new features:

• Be honest about how long things will take
• Let them know if plans change
• Help users understand when they might see new features

This stops users from getting upset if things take longer than they thought.

8. Use AI and Automation

AI for Sorting Requests

AI can help manage feature requests by:

• Grouping similar requests
• Spotting important trends
• Helping teams make choices based on data

AI looks at things like how users feel, if features can be built, and if they fit business goals.

Automate Simple Tasks

Using automation can save time when handling feature requests. Here's what it can do:

By doing these jobs, teams can focus on more important work.

Predict Feature Impact

AI can guess how new features might affect users and the business. It does this by:

• Looking at past data
• Checking user feedback
• Guessing which features will help the most

This helps teams pick the best features to work on next.

9. Get Feedback on New Features

After adding new features, it's important to find out what users think and make changes based on their input.

Ask Users About New Features

Get user opinions on new features to understand what they like, don't like, and want to change. Here are some ways to do this:

Improve Based on Feedback

Use what users tell you to make features better:

1. Look at all the feedback to find common themes
2. Pick which changes to make first
3. Update features based on user ideas
4. Tell users about the changes you've made

Check if Features Work Well

See how well new features are doing by looking at:

10. Keep Good Records

Keeping clear records helps teams manage feature requests better. This section shows why good record-keeping matters and how to do it well.

Create a Feature Request Library

A feature request library is a place to store all requests in one spot. This makes it easy for teams to find and track requests. Here's how to make one:

Write Down Why Decisions Were Made

Writing down why you chose certain features helps:

• Explain choices to users and team members
• See patterns in what gets picked
• Make better choices over time

Tips for writing down decisions:

• Say why each feature was picked or not
• Explain clearly
• Keep all reasons in one place

Make Info Easy to Find

When info is easy to find, teams work better. Try these ideas:

Conclusion

Summary of 10 Strategies

We've looked at 10 key ways to handle feature requests in 2024:

Future of Request Management

As tech gets better, managing feature requests will become even more important for businesses. We'll likely see new tools that use AI to help handle requests. Also, as companies focus more on making customers happy, they'll need better ways to manage feature requests.

Keep Making Your Process Better

Handling feature requests is something you need to work on all the time. As your business grows and what customers want changes, you should:

• Look at how you manage requests
• Make changes to work better
• Try new ways to understand what users need

By doing these things, you can:

• Give customers what they want
• Stay ahead of other companies
• Help your business grow

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