Designing and developing a product is a lengthy process involving many important decisions. Deciding which product features to include is one of the hardest parts of designing a product — especially without customer feedback. When designing and developing a product, you want to create something centered around the people using it.
If your product doesn’t include a feature customers want to see, it’s not too late to change it. Feature requests are how customers and employees can communicate with product managers and developers to ensure the features they want are included in the latest iteration.
Feedback is crucial in product design and development, and feature requests are a big part. This page will discuss feature requests, their importance, and how to write one effectively.
Feature requests explained
A feature request is a request a customer, stakeholder, or employee submits when they want to see a specific feature added to a product or service. Feature requests play a key role in product development, giving product designers and developers a better understanding of what people want.
Employees can also submit feature requests within your organization to suggest new features for their software and tools. These feature requests help your organization better understand what needs to be added or changed to improve operations.
Importance of feature requests
Products and services should be designed to meet the needs of the people who use them, and that starts with understanding what users want. Feature requests drive product innovation by helping you understand what new features or changes users want to see. Designing your products or services around users also increases customer satisfaction.
Companies of all sizes use feature requests to determine the next step in product discovery. When you have customer feedback about your product's features, you can determine what to prioritize based on the number of requests you receive.
Feature requests can also help with resource planning by helping you figure out what you need to prioritize and who to assign to what. The result is more efficient product development centered around the user’s needs.
Types of feature requests
Feature requests aren’t always centered around adding a new feature to a product or software. There are several types of feature requests you may see in your feature request management tool, including:
- Usability improvements: Usability improvements are small changes that make your product easier to use. For example, a user may request that you optimize your app for mobile devices or make your product more accessible to people with disabilities.
- Integrations: Certain products—particularly software—are more effective when integrated with other products. Users might ask you to add features that integrate with other frequently used software or design your product in a way that is physically compatible with another product.
- New functionality: When users want to see a new feature in a product or service, they’ll make a new functionality request. New functionality requests are the most diverse of all feature requests because there are endless features you can add to your product.
How to write a feature request
Learning how to write a feature request can help you better understand how to handle and integrate them into your product roadmap. In this section, we’ll give you a quick breakdown of how to write a feature request.
Identify the problem
The first step to writing a feature request is identifying a problem with a product or service. Users typically discover these problems when using a product regularly, but identifying the problem when writing a feature request isn’t that simple.
You have to clearly describe the problem with the product — whether it’s a gap in functionality or a usability issue. You also need to explain why the current functionality of a product or service isn’t sufficient for your needs. Clearly describing your problem and its importance will help product developers find the right solution.
Provide context and use cases
Explaining the problem you’re experiencing in detail or the feature you want to add only goes so far. If you want to write an effective feature request, you need to provide context for the issue or feature and explain the real-world effects it may have.
Let’s say you suggest a usability improvement for a product not designed for people with disabilities. You can explain how people with specific disabilities may be impacted by the current features or design and how they would benefit if the design were more user-friendly. Providing real-world context gives developers a better understanding of who they’re making improvements for and how that affects their product strategy.
Suggest a solution
If you’re submitting a feature request because of a lack of functionality or usability, include a potential solution to give developers a place to start. Product management teams may not see the same potential solution you’re seeing, or they may implement a solution that leads to additional problems for users like you.
You don’t have to provide a perfect solution to your problem. However, you should suggest a solution and describe how it could be implemented within the product's context. The more detail you can provide, the better you can tailor features to meet your needs.
Highlight the benefits
Once you have a solution in the form of a new feature or integration, highlight the benefits of implementing that new feature. Explain how the feature will improve the user experience, make the product easier to use, or help users be more productive. Highlighting tangible benefits gives product developers an understanding of how implementing your feature request could benefit users.
It’s also important to mention whether your suggested feature aligns with business goals or industry trends. For example, an online retailer could switch to more sustainable packaging to align with environmental industry trends.
Submit to the right channel
Every company has a different process for submitting feature requests, and it’s essential to submit yours through the right channel. Do some research to learn more about the submission process for the company you’re contacting, and then use the appropriate forum or feedback portal to submit your request.
Before you submit your request, review it to ensure it includes all the necessary details. Some companies may provide detailed guidelines for feature requests, which you can use as a checklist to ensure you include as much detail as possible.
Tips for handling feature requests
There are some key tips to help you write and manage feature requests effectively. Here’s what you need to know.
It's essential to be clear and concise when writing a feature request. While you want to include as many details as possible, you don’t want your request to become overwhelming or confusing. Try to write a clear and concise request while being as specific as possible about the feature you’re describing.
After submitting your feature request, be open to feedback so you can refine it based on your input. Your feature request may not be perfect initially, but you can continue working on it until you find a solution.
Product developers count on your feedback for product analytics and design, so it’s worth spending time on your feature request.
Feature request example
If you’re unsure how to write an effective feature request, check out this example to help you get started. In this example, we’ll look at a simple mobile banking app.
Feature request name: Colorblind Settings
Detailed description: The app uses blue and yellow colors in close proximity, making it difficult for colorblind users to navigate and read account balances.
Yellow-blue colorblind users would benefit from user-friendly settings designed for people with disabilities. One possible solution would be to add colorblind settings to the app's settings menu. When the colorblind option is toggled on, the app's colors can switch to a colorblind-friendly design.
Implementing colorblind settings would make the mobile banking app more accessible to users with colorblindness, improving the user experience and enhancing productivity. This also aligns with the industry trend of designing products and services with disabilities in mind.
Category: Usability Improvement
Priority: Medium
Use Jira Product Discovery to write effective feature requests
Feature request software can help you effectively manage feature requests — and Jira Product Discovery makes it easier than ever. Features like roadmap planning and stakeholder collaboration allow you to prioritize feature requests based on input from key stakeholders and team members. As a result, you can create a better product roadmap that’s centered around users.
Try Jira Product Discovery and discover how to simplify feature requests and help your team remain agile.