The Feature Request Autopsy
Decide what to do with a loud feature request
A loud customer or prospect keeps demanding this feature: [THE REQUEST, WHO IS ASKING, HOW OFTEN, WHAT THEY SAY BREAKS WITHOUT IT]. Autopsy the request before it touches the roadmap: the job they are actually hiring it for (usually not the feature they named), how many others share the job vs how loud this one voice is, whether a workaround or existing feature covers it, what building it really costs including maintenance, and what we tell the requester in each outcome - building, workaround, or no. Write the reply for the 'no' case that keeps the customer.
Inputs needed
- ■The request, requester, frequency, stated stakes
What good output looks like
Named request decoded to the real job; loudness separated from demand; maintenance cost included; a reply drafted for each outcome, no-reply keeps the customer
The stream (0)
Reading the room…