Decoding User Feedback: A SaaS Team's Guide to Creating What Truly Matters

In the fast-paced world of SaaS, understanding your users isn't just important – it's your lifeline. But here's the kicker: simply talking to users isn't enough. You've got to dig deeper, extract those golden nuggets of insight from what they're telling you. Sometimes, your users don't actually want a more feature-packed product; they just want an easier way to solve their problems. And if you can give them that? Well, you'll be their hero.

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Focus on root causes.

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Starting out, your first goal should be to figure out the root problem from their statements, not just the surface problems or symptoms. One example of a root problem scenario I like is the razor blade in the trouser example. If a person has a blade in their pockets (that they do not know about) and that blade tears up the pocket every time, the user complaint/request would most likely be, “how do I make my pocket untearable,” or “how do I ensure my pockets can get sewn back as fast as possible when they tear,” or, worst case, “how do I entirely remove the pocket since it’s so useless to me.” If you don’t go look in the pocket, if you don’t stop to think what the root cause could be, you would be stuck trying to ideate stronger untearable pockets or even worse, pockets that sew themselves back 😅.

But let's take it a step further. Once you've nailed down that root problem, break it into two parts: desired functional outcomes and emotional outcomes. Let's say you're building project management software. The functional outcome might be "users want to easily track project progress," while the emotional outcome could be "they need to feel in control and less stressed about deadlines." By breaking it down like this, you're not just building features – you're crafting experiences that resonate on a deeper level with your users.

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Now, here's where it gets interesting. Take these three elements – the root problem, functional outcome, and emotional outcome – and use them to identify which usability heuristic your current product is violating. Assign a severity rating, then brainstorm an initial recommendation. But remember, this isn't set in stone – it's just your best idea right after the interview. Keep a column for "Implemented Solution" too. Fill this in much later with what you actually ship. It's a great way to track how your understanding evolves.

The User Research Document from this method is divided into several key columns, each serving a distinct purpose:

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1. User Statement: This column captures either paraphrased or exact statements from user interviews. It serves as the raw data from which insights are drawn.
2. Problem Identified: This column aims to succinctly and accurately define the problem based on the user’s statement.
3. Desired Functional Outcome: This section delves into why users want a particular need addressed or problem solved. It outlines the functional capabilities users expect to gain as a result of solving the identified issue based on the corresponding statement from the user statement column.
4. Desired Emotional Outcome: Here, the focus is on the emotions users are pursuing. It’s about understanding the emotional impact or satisfaction users anticipate upon the resolution of their problem deduced from the corresponding statement in the user statement column.
5. Heuristic Violated: Utilizing the identified problem, this section determines which usability heuristic is being violated by the current system.
6. Severity Rating: Each identified problem is assigned a severity rating between 1–5, indicating the urgency and impact of the issue.
7. Actionable Recommendation: In this part, preliminary recommendations are brainstormed to address the identified problem while also fulfilling the desired functional and emotional outcomes.
8. Implemented Solution Feature: This section should remain empty until the actual solution is designed. Once the solution is in place, provide a summary of what was built. This step is essential for readers to compare the actionable recommendations with the final solution and track the journey from the user statement to the implemented solution, helping assess how effectively the final solution aligns with the expected user outcomes.

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Here's the cool part – this method isn't just about gathering data. It's about transforming that data into a roadmap for your product. By breaking down user statements into functional and emotional outcomes, identifying problems, and brainstorming solutions, you're putting user needs at the heart of your SaaS development.

To illustrate the method, consider the following example table:

The User Research Documentation method provides a structured and comprehensive approach to understanding user feedback. By breaking down user statements into functional and emotional outcomes, identifying problems, and brainstorming solutions, you ensure that user needs are at the forefront of product development, paving the way for informed and user-centric decision-making.