Managing Ideas within Community - seeking best practices

Good day Community -
I am building a process to bring Ideas into my community and reviewing Vanilla's analytics and integrating with Jira to help the Product Team triage submitted ideas.

My goals are to make the process easy and transparent for customers while giving the Product Team the tools to make holistic decisions.

How is your Product Team triaging submitted ideas and what software are you using? Jira? Productboard?

Cheers,
Toby

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Alexandru

Hi,

I'm using Productboard since a few years back and it works like a charm. Once a suggestion is posted in the ideation category on the forum, the post is automatically sent to Productboard via API and from there it's analyzed by the product development teams without them having to check the forum for new posts all the time. The best part is that you can organize them as you go, there are plenty of customization options in the app, so ideas can be prioritized accordingly. However, if you want to follow up on the suggestions you receive (always recommended, regardless if you implement an idea or not), you'll have to update the thread and close the loop on the forum, since it's not possible to reply from Productboard directly, this is a one-way street.

Cheers,
Alex

Tmetcalf

Thank you @Alexandru - I appreciate the insight!
I know from past experience, I need to make a policy that is easy for Product to participate and provide follow-up.

Cheers,
Toby

JasonHill

Hi @Tmetcalf,

I introduced Ideas into a community forum in a past life. I'm sure good software helps, but just wanted to share my experiences as I think what matters the most is that you have absolute buy-in and commitment from the product development team that they are going to actively participate, and consider and regularly implement ideas from the community into their releases. I thought I had it, but that support quickly evaporated and I was left to manage the fallout with community members. Ideas is a very, very public window into your organisation. If you feel you don't have widespread support and commitment to manage Ideas from the product team, don't go there…

Jason

BrendanP

Another thing to consider with that, if not using the Productboard integration for example, would be to have a clear policy as to when they get involved.

Perhaps create an Automation Rule to change the status of an idea after X number of votes then send an email to relevant PM or assign the post as an escalation for their review. You would need the PMs buy-in but you could make it a more agreed upon policy with automations playing a part in it.

Tmetcalf

"I think what matters the most is that you have absolute buy-in and commitment from the product development team that they are going to actively participate, and consider and regularly implement ideas from the community into their releases."

I agree 100% @JasonHill - regardless of the tools, the Product Team must buy into the process. In addition to technology, I am leveraging relationships to create an end-to-end, transparent process that is easy for customers to submit (and stay informed) and Product to participate.

Cheers!
Toby

Tmetcalf

Thanks @BrendanP - I am confident automation rules will be part of my process.

Alexandru

True. I think we also need to keep in mind that with a public ideation process also comes a lot of noise, or features and suggestions that either don't fall in line with the business objectives, or simply don't bring value to the majority of people who are using your products and services.

Regardless of this, the key here is to follow up on everything, because even though you won't implement a specific idea coming from your community for various reasons, its members will always appreciate you took the time to read and provide feedback on it. And like you said, ideation is a public window into the organisation because people get to see how you actually react to consumer feedback, and if you are truly listening or not.

Getting the buy-in from whoever is in charge is one thing, long time commitment is another. I've learned from past experiences that without setting clear expectations, you may need to chase people around to get your answers. By having a clear, agreed workflow you keep the relevant teams accountable, and avoid responsibility being tossed around.

Thus, my advice would be in the same direction. If you think you have backup, things can and will change if there's no commitment, and this needs to be put in writing. Without this, simply leave ideation out of the picture, or opt for an internal flow, for example an email address or form where suggestions can be submitted.

Kirstie Macfarlane

Some great advice here @Alexandru - I especially agree with your point regarding going beyond simple buy in from various teams. Getting a process of how other teams will be involved from the get go is key!

Tmetcalf

This is so on point:
"the key here is to follow up on everything, because even though you won't implement a specific idea coming from your community for various reasons, its members will always appreciate you took the time to read and provide feedback on it."
Thank you @Alexandru