Leveraging User Feedback for Effective Product Development

02 Oct 2023
Include evaluation in your user feedback analysis

Understanding user feedback is integral to the success of any product. One of the first things product teams have to establish while developing new products is a robust connection to their user base.

Here’s how to gather and evaluate user feedback, and control its influence on product evolution.

1. Build User Feedback Networks: From Friends to Fandom

During the phase of extensive market research and before launching the product to the public, our product team relied heavily on feedback from the inner circle, also known as the “FFF” (Friends, Family and Fools). This consisted of insights from the core team, stakeholders, and close associates.

Soon after, diversifying our feedback sources became crucial. Our team turned to the public by creating a buzzing Discord community and multiple feedback forms for feature suggestions.

Furthermore, as the product was released, a strong presence on social platforms like Instagram and Twitter became essential. These channels encouraged and expanded real-time communication, gathering users’ reactions, and maintaining a close relationship with the fandom.

All of these channels molded the product into what it is today.

“Never underestimate the importance of organic feedback, casual comments on social media or any other informal channel users might use to reach out. Every voice matters!”

2. The Power of User Interviews

Beyond the usual feedback channels, it’s important to maintain an active 1:1 conversation with your user base through regular user interviews. These sessions, often preceding major feature rollouts, ensure that the product is on the right path.

Try to frame questions in a way that doesn’t unintentionally nudge users toward desired answers. Allow them to express their authentic opinion in a way they see fit.

3. How to Validate User Feedback

It’s not enough to just collect feedback; understanding the ‘who’ behind it is equally important. Ask yourself some of these questions:

  • How frequently does the user engage with the product?
  • How long has the user been using the product?
  • What is the demographic profile of the user providing feedback?
  • Which context does the user have about the product and how deep are they within the industry?
  • What is the primary motivation behind the user’s feedback?
  • How does their feedback compare to the general trends and sentiments from the broader user community?

Depending on what type of feature you’re developing, you might need opinions and feedback from different types of users. Sometimes you need a seasoned user to advise you about the changes. However, often the most groundbreaking ideas emerge from novice users or newcomers, who can provide fresh perspectives and highlight user-friendliness gaps.

4. Organize User Feedback for Implementation

As the product grows, so does the influx of feedback and ideas from different types of users. Keeping a record of every request for a new feature or a tweak of the existing one enables easier analysis later on.

Here’s how our product teams conduct feedback management:

  1. Raw feedback collection

This step contains writing down all requests and suggestions from all established communication channels.

2. Bi-weekly community reports

Every two weeks, the team creates a concise one-page report of all the feedback and requests. This summary shows the potential impact and frequency of each suggestion.

3. Initial backlog prioritization

This phase involves integrating the new feedback into the ongoing backlog, ensuring each feature is sorted according to its urgency and implementation complexity.

4. Refined backlog

Doing this step once a week lets you fine-tune details, re-assess priorities, and ensure the goals remain clear and actionable.

5. Sprint alignment

The very top of the backlog is kept well-defined at all times. That way, the features are ready for the upcoming 2-week-long development sprint.

5. Set User Expectations

One thing to highlight here is the importance of setting community expectations. As the nature of software development dictates, it is hard to predict the amount of work needed to implement something. What you can do is fragment any effort into manageable chunks and make sure the right people for the job are assigned these.

“We rarely commit to the community that something will be done by some date.”

Sometimes the idea that comes your way might be different from your current vision of the product. While these suggestions might not be immediate development priorities, always document and leverage them to refine your product direction. Don’t forget to communicate this to your users and show that their opinion is valued.

Feedback can spark change

A feedback-driven approach reduces the risk of drastic product shifts. Constant communication with your users will result in most adjustments being minor but frequent. The trick is to keep listening and react quickly.

“Setting up a robust process to gather quality feedback demands a lot of effort. However, it’s nothing compared to how much effort would’ve been wasted developing in the dark.”

Maintaining open communication channels, coupled with an organized approach to evaluating and integrating user insights gives a head start to anyone in the product space. Feedback isn’t just about listening – it’s about evolving.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join MochaLabs

Your skill set opens the door, your mindset keeps you in.

Open letter

Not finding the perfect role? Let’s connect anyway and explore the possibilities.

Drop a CV here >
Any questions or feedback?

We’d love to hear from you.

Contact us >
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. View more
Cookies settings
Accept
Privacy & Cookie policy
Privacy & Cookies policy
Cookie name Active

Privacy Policy

General information

At “Mochalabs d.o.o.”, we consider the protection of personal data of our employees,users, business partners, or other persons with whom we are cooperating paramount and it is an integral part of our business processes. This document describes what personal information we collect, the ways we collect it, on what grounds, for what purposes we use it, how long we keep it, with whom we share it, the steps we take to protect personal data, and the rights and choices you have in relation to the collection and use of your data. Our “Privacy Policy” was adopted as one of the measures to comply with the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data, and applies from May 25, 2018.

Basic principles of data processing

In processing the personal data of our employees, clients, suppliers, subcontractors, business partners and others we adhere to the following principles:
  • Legality, fairness and transparency of processing We process data in accordance with legal practices, and the respondents are informed about the processing and purpose of the processes and are familiar with the risks, rules, safeguards and rights regarding the processing of personal data.
  • The scale and purpose of collected data Only data requisite for specific, explicit and legal purposes is collected and processed only in a manner in accordance for said purpose.
  • Accuracy Mochalabs d.o.o. ensures all measures are taken to maintain up-to-date data is accurate. In the event personal data is not accurate, it is corrected or delete as soon as possible.
  • Storage limit The data is stored in a form that allows the identification of the respondents for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data is processed.
  • Integrity and confidentiality Data shall be processed in such a way as to ensure adequate levels of security: including the protection against unauthorized or illegal processing, accidental loss, and destruction or damage.

What data are we collecting, for what purpose, and how long do we keep your data?

As part of our business, we collect and process the following categories of personal data by the following categories:
  1. Candidates for Employment (Selection Process) If you submit your application for work to MochaLabs, we will collect and process your personal information based on your legitimate interest and with your consent (when submitting your application). We collect the minimal data so that we can make a selection for the purpose of assessing potential candidates for a particular job.
  2. Employees Based on a legitimate interest in obtaining employment rights, compliance with statutory requirements, job placement (such as organizing travel, achieving job-related benefits), and tracking and developing employees, we collect basic employee personal information.
  3. External associates Based on a legitimate interest, we collect and process personal data of our external associates (work through student services, student practices, contractual external associates) for the purpose of contract execution.
  4. Visitors to our websites To improve user experience while visiting our site, we collect personal information in the form of “cookies”. We use this information to manage our web pages and our technical solutions, understand how visitors move through our website and view our services and improve our user experience on our sites and services. More about cookies and how we use them find in our Cookie policy.
  5. Marketing purposes Through advertising and promotion, we may process personal information related to sending newsletters, organizing events and webinars. Special consent allows the use of photos from our own sources for the purpose of advertising and promotion.

For all the data we collect, have access to and process, we deal with confidentiality of the highest security standards. We do not collect or process so-called “sensitive data” such as data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or membership in a union, genetic data, data relating to health or sex life or sexual orientation of an individual. All data is deleted after the end of the purpose for which it was collected or in the event of termination of the contractual relationship, and no later than the expiration of any statutory obligations related to the storage of personal data. Upon expiration of retention deadlines, we remove personal information from the system and archives or convert them to anonymous data so that we can no longer identify you.

With whom we share your data? 

Based on a legitimate interest, if there is a legal obligation or explicit authorization under the law or in accordance with your given consent, in the following cases, we may pass on your personal information to third parties:
  • For the purpose of fulfilling legal obligations or preventing misuse, personal data may be forwarded to the legislative, supervisory and regulatory bodies within and outside the territory of the Republic of Croatia
  • In order to fulfill contractual obligations towards employees and external associates – personal data can be forwarded to external associates with whom “Mochalabs d.o.o.” has a contract on business cooperation with which we have a contract for processing personal data, where all personal data protection measures
  • Financial institutions (eg Fina, etc.)

When transferring data, we take care that all protection measures are assured, that the minimum amount of data that is required in order to realize the requested service is transmitted, and that the processing limitation principle is respected. Collected personal data in processed in the Republic of Croatia. In exceptional cases it is processed in other countries (with the application of appropriate personal data protection measures, in ways prescribed by the rules for processing within the EU).

Your rights and how to use them

Each respondent whose personal information is collected and processed has the following rights:
  • The right to access data The respondent has the right to obtain a certificate of processing when his or her personal data is processed, the purpose of the processing, the categories of personal data processed, the recipients to whom the personal data has been disclosed etc., in addition to be informed about the collection and further processing of any other personal data.
  • The right to correct or supplement personal information If you believe that your personal information is inaccurate or incomplete, you may contact us at any time and request a correction of your personal information or submit a supplemental correction to complete your personal information. It is your obligation to notify us of changes regarding your personal information so that we can update it.
  • The right to delete personal data (“Right to oblivion”) The respondent has the right to request the deletion of his information in one of the following cases (i) that your personal information is no longer necessary in relation to the purpose for which it was collected; (ii) withdrawal your consent regarding processing, if there is no other legal basis for processing your data; (iii) if you object to the processing or there are no more legitimate reasons for processing; (iv) if personal data is proven to be unlawfully processed.
  • The right to limit the processing of personal data As an interviewee, you have the right to terminate the processing of your personal information if one of the following conditions is met: (i) the respondent disputes the accuracy of personal information for the period during which the processing leader can verify the accuracy of personal data; (ii) processing is illegal and the respondent opposes the deletion of personal data and instead requests the restriction of its use; (iii) the processing manager no longer needs personal data for processing purposes, but is asked by the respondent to set up, exercise or defend legal claims; (iv) the respondent filed an objection to the processing, expecting that the certificate exceeds the legitimate reasons of the treatment manager’s reasons.
  •  The right to data transfer The respondent has the right to receive personal data relating to him, which he or she has given to the processing leader in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and has the right to transfer that data to another processing leader without interference by the processing leader to whom personal information is provided, that if: (i) processing is based on consent or in accordance with the contract; (ii) processing is an automated process; (iii) on the basis of a legal obligation.
  • The right to withdraw consent You may withdraw consent for any purpose of processing at any time; In that case, we will no longer use your personal information collected on the basis of consent for the stated purposes.
  • The right to object As an interviewer, you can at any time make an objection to processing personal information relating to you. From the moment we receive your complaint, we will no longer process your personal information unless we prove that there are compelling legitimate reasons for said processing that exceed the interests, rights and freedoms of the respondent, or to set, exercise, or defend legal claims.
If you want to exercise one of these rights, you may contact us at the section below. If you feel that your right guaranteed by the General Data Protection Regulation has been violated, you can report a violation of the rights to the “Personal Data Protection Agency”, Zagreb, Martićeva 14, and on May 25th, 2018, and to the EU supervisory authority.

Security

In accordance with the regulations governing the protection of personal data, we are obliged to protect personal data and to take appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized or unlawful treatment of it and its accidental loss, destruction or damage. We have contractually committed third parties with whom we have a business relationship, who process personal data based on this business relationship, to act in accordance with the regulations in question. Access to your personal information is limited to those employees who need this information. We continuously educate our employees on the importance of data confidentiality, privacy protection and the protection of your data.

Contact

If you have questions or concerns about how we treat your personal information and how we use it or would like to exercise your rights, you may contact us here: – By e-mail: [email protected] – At the address: Zavrtnica 36, Zagreb In accordance with applicable legal regulations governing the protection of personal data, each request/query will be resolved as soon as possible, or at the latest within 30 days of receipt. When contacting and setting up these requests, we will make reasonable efforts to verify your identity and prevent unauthorized processing of your personal information. We use cookies to help improve your experience of our website at https://mochalabs.com. This cookie policy is part of Mochalabs d.o.o.’s privacy policy. It covers the use of cookies between your device and our site. We also provide basic information on third-party services we may use, who may also use cookies as part of their service. This policy does not cover their cookies. If you don’t wish to accept cookies from us, you should instruct your browser to refuse cookies from https://mochalabs.com. In such a case, we may be unable to provide you with some of your desired content and services.

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small piece of data that a website stores on your device when you visit. It typically contains information about the website itself, a unique identifier that allows the site to recognize your web browser when you return, additional data that serves the cookie’s purpose, and the lifespan of the cookie itself. Cookies are used to enable certain features (e.g. logging in), track site usage (e.g. analytics), store your user settings (e.g. time zone, notification preferences), and to personalize your content (e.g. advertising, language). Cookies set by the website you are visiting are usually referred to as first-party cookies. They typically only track your activity on that particular site. Cookies set by other sites and companies (i.e. third parties) are called third-party cookies They can be used to track you on other websites that use the same third-party service.

Types of cookies and how we use them

Essential cookies

Essential cookies are crucial to your experience of a website, enabling core features like user logins, account management, shopping carts, and payment processing. We use essential cookies to enable certain functions on our website.

Performance cookies

Performance cookies track how you use a website during your visit. Typically, this information is anonymous and aggregated, with information tracked across all site users. They help companies understand visitor usage patterns, identify and diagnose problems or errors their users may encounter, and make better strategic decisions in improving their audience’s overall website experience. These cookies may be set by the website you’re visiting (first-party) or by third-party services. They do not collect personal information about you. We use performance cookies on our site.

Functionality cookies

Functionality cookies are used to collect information about your device and any settings you may configure on the website you’re visiting (like language and time zone settings). With this information, websites can provide you with customized, enhanced, or optimized content and services. These cookies may be set by the website you’re visiting (first-party) or by third-party services. We use functionality cookies for selected features on our site.

Targeting/advertising cookies

Targeting/advertising cookies help determine what promotional content is most relevant and appropriate to you and your interests. Websites may use them to deliver targeted advertising or limit the number of times you see an advertisement. This helps companies improve the effectiveness of their campaigns and the quality of content presented to you. These cookies may be set by the website you’re visiting (first-party) or by third-party services. Targeting/advertising cookies set by third-parties may be used to track you on other websites that use the same third-party service. We use targeting/advertising cookies on our site.
Save settings
Cookies settings
0
%