Guides
Get more out of the feedback you already have
Short, practical guides on collecting feature requests, deciding what to build, and telling people when it ships. Useful with any tool.
Collecting feedback
- Feature request templates: what to ask, with examplesA good feature request template asks three things: what the user was trying to do, what got in the way, and how they handle it today. Keep everything else optional or captured automatically, and don't ask users to design the solution or rate its priority.4 min read
- How to add an in-app feedback widget people actually usePut a quiet, always-available entry point in your help or account menu, add one or two contextual prompts after key moments, and ask a single open question. Capture the user, page and app version automatically so people only type what you can't know, and reply to submissions so users see their feedback went somewhere.4 min read
- How to collect customer feedback in SlackRoute feedback into one internal Slack channel with a fixed posting format, and capture requests from customer channels yourself instead of sending customers to a form. Move each request into a tracker with the customer's exact words, who they are and a link, review weekly, and reply in the original thread when it ships.4 min read
- How to collect feature requests from Discord without losing themTreat Discord as the inbox, not the database: give requests one dedicated channel, capture stray ideas from other channels yourself, and copy each one into a tracker with the user's handle, exact words and a link. Triage on a fixed schedule, merge duplicates as votes, and reply in the thread when the request moves.4 min read
- How to handle duplicate feature requestsMerge duplicates into one request and keep each duplicate as a vote with the user's original words, so you get an accurate count without losing context or the people to notify. Merge only when the underlying problem is the same, and split requests that bundle several problems.4 min read
Prioritizing
- How to prioritize feature requests: votes, RICE and revenueNo single signal is enough: votes show how many users want something, revenue shows how much those users are worth, and RICE weighs value against effort. Merge duplicates first, shortlist by votes and revenue, score only the shortlist with RICE, then check it against your strategy before you commit.4 min read
- The RICE prioritization framework, with worked examplesRICE scores an idea as (Reach × Impact × Confidence) ÷ Effort so very different projects can be compared on one scale. Reach is people affected per time period, Impact uses a scale from 0.25 to 3, Confidence is 100%, 80% or 50%, and Effort is person-months.4 min read
Roadmaps & changelogs
- Feedback board vs public roadmap vs changelog: what each is forA feedback board collects what users want, a public roadmap shows what you've decided to build, and a changelog records what has shipped. They work best as one flow, from request to status to release note. Starting from zero, begin with a changelog, add a board when requests repeat across channels, and add a roadmap when people keep asking what's coming.4 min read
- How to run a public roadmap users trustUsers trust a public roadmap that is current, honest about uncertainty and tied to what they asked for. Show only what you're committed to, use a few clear statuses instead of exact dates, review it every couple of weeks, and tell voters whenever their item moves.4 min read
- How to write a changelog people actually readWrite each entry for the person using the product, not the person who wrote the code: a plain title that names what users can now do, one to three sentences on what changed and where, and a screenshot when the UI changed. Publish on a steady rhythm, lead with the biggest change, and tell the people who asked for it.3 min read
Closing the loop
Bugs & support
- How to answer "is this on the roadmap?" without a support queueKeep one public roadmap, built from request statuses, as the single source of truth, and answer every roadmap question with a link to the matching item plus its status in plain words. Use a short standard reply for each status, let people vote or follow so they hear when it moves, and don't promise dates you can't keep.4 min read
- How to triage bug reports from your communityTriage community bug reports in one short daily pass: classify each message as a bug, request or question, merge duplicates, ask one specific follow-up when a report is vague, and set severity by impact and workaround. Then reply in the original thread with next steps, and again when the fix ships.4 min read
Migrating
AI & agents
Let the requests come to you
Sikia listens in your Slack and Discord channels, merges duplicate requests into votes and emails voters when you ship.