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Feedback Loop

What is a feedback loop?

A feedback loop is a cycle where you gather input (from users, data, or stakeholders), analyse it, make changes based on what you learned, and then check whether those changes had the right effect. The loop closes when the result of your actions feeds back into the next round of input. No loop means you’re not learning from reality.

Use it when: you want to improve a product, process, or decision over time. Build feedback loops into continuous discovery, iterative design, and release habits so the team learns consistently.

Copy/paste template

  • Collect – Where does input come from? (e.g. user interviews, usability testing, support tickets, analytics, A/B tests).
  • Analyse – Who interprets it and how? (e.g. themes, severity, opportunity).
  • Decide – What will we change? (e.g. backlog item, experiment, process change).
  • Act – Do the change.
  • Verify – Did it work? (e.g. next round of feedback, metric). Then repeat.

Why feedback loops matter

  • Turn input into improvement instead of one-off “we heard you” with no follow-through.
  • Reduce reliance on assumptions by regularly checking against real behaviour and feedback.
  • Build a culture where learning and change are expected, not rare.
  • Make iterative design and continuous discovery concrete (collect → analyse → decide → act → verify).

What a good feedback loop includes

Checklist

  • [ ] Clear source – you know where input comes from (users, data, support, etc.).
  • [ ] Regular cadence – not once a year; e.g. weekly or per release.
  • [ ] Analysis – raw input is synthesised (themes, priorities) so decisions are possible.
  • [ ] Action – at least one concrete change per cycle (backlog, experiment, or process).
  • [ ] Verification – you check whether the change worked (feedback or metric).
  • [ ] Closed loop – the result of “verify” feeds into the next “collect” or “decide”.

Common formats

  • User feedback loop: Interviews or tests → themes → design/backlog changes → ship → next round of interviews/tests.
  • Data loop: Analytics or A/B → insight → hypothesis → change → measure again.
  • Support loop: Tickets → categorise and prioritise → fix or improve → track repeat issues.

Examples

Example (the realistic one)

Loop: “Monthly feedback round.” Collect: 5 user interviews + support ticket themes. Analyse: Product and design review; top 3 pain points. Decide: One pain point becomes a problem statement and a backlog item. Act: Ship the fix. Verify: Next month’s interviews ask “Has X improved?” and you track related support volume. The outcome feeds into the next month’s priorities. Loop closed.

Common pitfalls

  • Collecting but not acting: lots of feedback, no visible changes. → Do this instead: commit to at least one change per cycle and communicate it back.
  • No verification: you change something but never check if it worked. → Do this instead: define how you’ll verify (e.g. follow-up question, metric) before you act.
  • Loop too slow: yearly survey, annual “insights” report. → Do this instead: shorten the cycle (e.g. monthly or per sprint) so learning is continuous.
  • No ownership: “someone” should analyse or act. → Do this instead: assign owner and cadence (e.g. “Product runs monthly feedback review and updates backlog”).
  • Feedback loop vs user research: user research is a way to collect input; the feedback loop is the full cycle (collect, analyse, decide, act, verify).
  • Feedback loop vs iterative design: iterative design is the design version of the loop (build, test, learn, refine). The feedback loop is the generic structure.
  • Feedback loop vs continuous discovery: continuous discovery is the habit of regular user contact; feedback loops are how you close the loop from that contact to decisions and actions.

Next step

Map one feedback loop you already have (e.g. support tickets or user interviews): where it’s collected, who analyses, how it turns into action, and how you verify. If any step is missing or slow, fix that first. Then read Continuous discovery to strengthen the “collect” side.

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