You're balancing conflicting stakeholder opinions. How can you prioritize user feedback effectively?

Voice of the customer is paramount, but focus on the user only is not enough if we mean to foster sustainability. Beyond the challenge to understand user needs and desires, we need to consider the impacts on society as a whole and the natural systems too. In summary, we shall shift the focus from human-centric to “humanity-centric”, as proposed by Don Norman. And yes, there will be more conflicting opinions.

A análise do feedback é parte fundamental do processo de coleta de dados. E quando estamos falando em feedbacks de pessoas interessadas no desenvolvimento do produto precisamos sempre considerar os possíveis conflitos de interesse existentes. Isso é bastante comum em empresas com times grandes em que a competição por reconhecimento e promoções tornam-se altas. Então, o gestor de pessoas precisa estar muito bem preparado para analisar o feedback e ser assertivo nos encaminhamentos.

Start by collecting feedback from users through different methods like surveys, user testing, and feedback forms. This information is crucial as it reflects what your customers think and feel about your product. Analyze the feedback to spot recurring themes and problems. Look for patterns that indicate common issues rather than isolated incidents. It's important to quantify this data when possible because numbers can clearly show the importance of certain feedback. For instance, if multiple users mention a specific feature is difficult to use, this highlights a significant area needing improvement. This approach helps prioritize changes that will benefit the most users.

Stakeholder opinions must align with the Strategic Plan. Clear criteria make it easier to establish a hierarchy among them. Additionally, the project must align with the strategic plan to enable effective prioritization.

When we define strategic objectives and key metrics, they shall consider their potential impact for society and environment in the long term, so the data analysis must go beyond the impact on the product only.

After gathering user feedback, it's crucial to assess its potential impact on your product. Evaluate how each piece of feedback fits into your product goals and roadmap. Does it align with your overall vision? Will addressing this feedback improve important metrics or significantly enhance user satisfaction? Focus on prioritizing feedback that promises a clear, positive impact on the user experience and moves your product closer to achieving strategic objectives. This approach ensures that your efforts are directed towards changes that will bring tangible benefits and advance your product in the right direction.

It's important to understand why your stakeholders feedback differs by understanding their own goals and motivations and how that leads into the overall company goal. By digging deeper you can find alignment and/or clear prioritization which will help you deliver a better outcome for the overall business

Understand stakeholder is key for success, but we need to reconsider who are our stakeholders: society, natural systems, Earth environment, humanity, all living beings… We need to reframe our values with focus on sustainability – no greenwashing please.

It's important to grasp the goals of stakeholders when prioritizing tasks. Stakeholders offer insights into business limitations, market trends, and strategic aims that may not be immediately clear from user feedback. By harmonizing user feedback with stakeholder goals, you can prioritize matters that satisfy both groups and contribute to the product's success. This synergy guarantees that the product not only pleases users but also fulfills business objectives.

“Traditional” stakeholders may not understand the reasons to go beyond user-centric approach and to become really sustainable. The communication here becomes more complex and might be the biggest challenge.

Effective communication with stakeholders regarding the prioritization of user feedback is crucial for building and maintaining trust and support. Clearly articulate the reasons behind your decisions, linking them to data and business objectives. Explain how prioritizing specific user feedback can enhance product outcomes and align with overall business goals. This transparency helps stakeholders recognize the importance of user-focused decisions, turning potential conflicts into opportunities for collaboration.

In agile product development, the speed of iterating based on user feedback is crucial. Implement changes swiftly to test and learn from what works best. Prioritize feedback that allows for incremental improvements and quick actions. This approach keeps the product evolving and shows users and stakeholders that their input is highly valued and impactful.

You MUST know these 5 types of stakeholders' conflicts before going and solving them: 1. Different goals. People often want different things. A business might want to boost profits, but the local community might worry about preserving the environment. It's a classic clash. 2. Fighting over resources. When everyone wants a piece of the pie, disagreements are bound to happen. 3. Money matters. Who gets what benefits like jobs or money can cause big disagreements. Everyone wants their fair share. 4. Cultural concerns. Sometimes, projects can disrupt the way a community lives or their cultural traditions. 5. Poor management. When decisions aren’t clear or people aren’t kept in the loop, frustration builds.