Why you should ignore eighty percent of feature requests

When we released our public beta our inbox filled up with excited users asking for custom integrations, dark mode and complicated export formats. We spent three weeks building the popular feature only to see no one use it.

We found out that users suggest solutions based on their specific limited workflows, not the main problem they are trying to solve. They ask for a horse when they really need a car.

We changed how we handled feedback to ask "what are you trying to accomplish today?" Of "what feature do you want next?". That change uncovered hidden problems we never would have found from lists of feature requests.

Pay attention to user frustration. Think of their suggested features as signs of a problem, not the problem itself.

How do you remove the noise when choosing what to add to your product plan?