How to respond to product feature requests? Ask “When was the last time”

Don't ask "what" or "why" when users suggest features. Instead, ask "when did you last face this problem?”. This leads to quicker, better solutions.

Here are two examples that illustrate the benefits of asking "when":

1. Blocking contractors from deleting tickets
2. Designing a custom dashboard for energy visualization

1. Blocking Contractors from Deleting Tickets

See how "what", "why", and "when" can lead to different solutions when handling ticket deletions by contractor.

Question	Answer	Solution	Build cost
What feature do you want?	I don’t want contractors to be able to delete tickets	Contractor role and permissions. Ticket assignee permissions. Admin role to set contractor permissions.	$$$
Why do you want this feature?	I need access to all my tickets	Archive folder before permanent delete. Make archive folder visible to admin users.	$$
When did you last face this problem?	On the last project an external contractor on our team deleted a ticket by accident, thinking it would only be removed from his view	Update delete confirm modal with a warning displaying the names of other users who will lose access to this ticket (social warning)	$

2. Designing a custom dashboard for energy visualization

Next, see how asking different questions shapes quicker, better solutions for an energy dashboard.

Question	Answer	Solution	Build cost
What feature do you want?	I want a custom dashboard to visualise my building's energy consumption	Data integration. Widget customization. Chart types. Preset templates. Drag and drop functionality. Export capability. External sharing.	$$$$$
Why do you want this feature?	I need to report on monthly energy deviations	Data table view. A4 report generator. PDF export. Word export. Custom date range. Company logo. Custom formatting.	$$$
When did you last face this problem?	At our last building tenant committee meeting I did not have the utility bills in time and couldn't include the monthly energy consumption figures in the excel sheet prior to the meeting	CSV export of monthly consumption figures.	$

References

• Ryan Singer, and Chris Spiek (Hosts). (2017). Demand Thinking. Episode 1: Feature requests aren’t demand.