Everyone says:
“Get feedback early.”
Few people explain what to do with it.
That’s why most builders either:
- Chase every opinion
- Or ignore feedback completely
Both are mistakes.
Not all feedback is equal
Most feedback falls into one of these buckets:
1. Taste
“I don’t like the design.”
Irrelevant unless you’re testing taste.
2. Confusion
“I’m not sure what this does.”
Useful only if clarity is the goal.
3. Hypotheticals
“You should add X.”
Almost always noise.
4. Behaviour
They didn’t click. They didn’t finish. They didn’t return.
This is the only feedback that matters by default.
The rule most builders miss
Feedback is only useful in relation to a question.
If you didn’t define the question:
- You can’t filter feedback
- You can’t prioritise changes
- You can’t tell signal from noise
You didn’t “get feedback”.
You collected opinions.
Ask this before listening to anyone
Before you ship, decide:
“What am I trying to learn?”
Examples:
- Can users understand the value without explanation?
- Will anyone complete this flow unprompted?
- Will someone pay for this without a discount?
Now feedback has a job.
How to filter feedback in practice
When someone gives feedback, run it through this filter:
Does this relate to my question?
If not → ignore it.Is this opinion or behaviour?
Opinion → low weight.
Behaviour → high weight.Is it repeated without prompting?
One person saying it = interesting.
Five people doing it = signal.
The feedback trap
The most dangerous feedback sounds like this:
“I’d use this if…”
That sentence is a lie.
Not maliciously.
Just cognitively.
People are bad at predicting their own behaviour.
Trust actions.
Not intentions.
The reframe
Stop asking:
“What do people think?”
Start asking:
“What did people do?”
Because feedback isn’t about being liked.
It’s about being understood.
And understanding comes from behaviour, not comments.
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