Make feedback part of the product loop
Collect feedback where the product is used, turn messy signals into clear candidates, and choose what to build without surrendering the product vision.
Ben Sufiani · The article: Vibe Coding the Tools Your Business Is Missing
Ask for feedback where the work happens
Ben puts a visible feedback path inside HackBase instead of sending people to a survey after they leave. Suggestions can be seen, voted on, and moved to shipped, so the loop is visible to the people contributing.
The first version stays simple: a title, a short description, a type, votes, and a way for the admin to edit or hide an entry. That is enough to begin learning.
“One of the best ways is to make giving feedback part of the product. Don't make it something external.”
Let AI structure the signal before it reaches the queue
A small workflow reads the raw message, decides whether it is a bug, feature request, or something else, and returns structured data. If one message contains several issues, it can separate them.
The next useful step is not automatic implementation. It is research: reproduce the problem, check the product direction, and prepare a clear issue or proposal for a person to judge.
“An agent decides what it is, outputs structured data, and sends it back to my database for a signal log.”
Early users can pay with attention
A young product rarely has too much feedback. Ben recommends giving a small group unusually close access and making candid feedback part of that exchange.
Six committed people can expose more product work than a small team can complete. The problem of filtering at scale comes later.
“Insist on feedback as payment. Imagine you had six people giving you continuous feedback – you would be swamped already.”
Votes inform the product vision – they do not replace it
Ben keeps the ability to edit, hide, and decline requests. A popular suggestion deserves another look, but a roadmap assembled from raw demand will become fragmented quickly.
The final decision combines frequency, the people asking, the effort, the product's direction, and observed behavior. AI can make those inputs easier to see; it cannot make the product judgment disappear.
“You are under no pressure whatsoever to do what your customers want. You have to balance your product vision with the different customers you have.”
Dive deeper
See the HackBase build that the feedback system grew out of, from first screen to working product.
Read the insightBring the signals you are struggling to prioritize and compare approaches with the group.
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