[Running Working Group Agenda](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oBWNxBSOJKrh3ubHwN5pI8243vBjJ-Y_Cax17A5abII/edit#) (internal) | [Working Group Page](https://about.gitlab.com/company/team/structure/working-groups/issue-prioritization-framework/) ## Problems To Solve - We currently do not have a standard way to attribute customer ARR on a more granular scale to issues that they've requested. - The [User Requested Issues](https://app.periscopedata.com/app/gitlab/480786/User-Requested-Issues) dashboard currently sums total ARR for each customer family per issue, which doesn't adequately support making an a quantifiably accurate ROI for delivering the issue. - We currently do not distinguish between "nice to have", "blocker", and "this will likely cause a downgrade/churn/prevent upsell." One customer may view Feature ABC as nice to have, whereas another customer desperately needs it. - There is no clear separation for customer requests in terms of retaining vs. expanding with the customer. - TAMs spend 30-40% of their time manually aggregating customer requested issues and gathering ad-hoc status reports. - Manually compile customer requested issues - [example](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/account-management/eastern-north-america/ally-financial/ally-financial/-/issues/36) - Manually update master issue based on progress of issues in `gitlab-org/gitlab` - Continuous ad-hoc communication about status of issues and what release they will likely fall within. - Pain points around setting expectations as Product uses a combination of `~deliverable` + milestone to communicate to stakeholders if something is likely to be delivered within a given milestone. ## Business Goals - Standardized prioritization framework based on quantifiable data that enables us to determine urgency/value per issue/epic at scale and speed so that Product, Sales, and Customer Success can use a common language and model when discussing prioritization trade-offs. - Product DRIs have more accurate [sensing mechanisms](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/product-processes/#sensing-mechanisms) to help them globally optimize their delivery backlogs resulting in increased customer retention and acquisition. - Positively impact IACV growth and improve retention of existing ARR. - Improved accuracy of prioritization feedback among departments through automation and standardized inputs. - Further operationalize the process of creating effective bridges between Customer Success, Sales, and Product. - Improved trust with Customers by providing self-service updates on their requested items. - Remove the majority of manual processes required to aggregate customer requested Issues, which effectively represents $1M (30% per TAM = ~$30k per TAM x 35 TAMs) in TAM man hours that they can re-allocate to higher leverage activities. - Provide a way for customers that don't have a dedicated TAM to self-service their input into the model and have the same experience as larger customers. - Validate that this more robust prioritization model produces positive, quantifiable business outcomes so it can be incorporated more formally into the product and offered to our customers in the future. ## Proposal ### Manual Pilot - [x] [Build model prototype](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/cost-of-delay) - [x] [Collect data from larger TAM group](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/customer-success/okrs/-/issues/111) - [x] [Engage with product and collect feedback](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/Product/-/issues/2108) - [x] Revise model ### Operationalize Model - [X] [Improve the user request issues dashboard by incorporating more granular value and urgency dimensions](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-data/analytics/-/issues/6619) - [ ] [Push prioritization data to Gitlab via labels](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/Product/-/issues/1637) ### Operationalize Customer Dashboards - [X] [Better issue management for customers](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/customer-success/commercial-markets-initiatives/-/issues/137) - [X] [Customer issue tracking MVC](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-data/analytics/-/issues/6523) ### Operationalize Self-Service for smaller customers - [ ] Self-service form - [ ] Instructions for customers - [ ] ... ## Exit Criteria - [X] Determine a viable model (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/Product/-/issues/1458, https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/Product/-/issues/1457) - [X] Implement and validate model (https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/Product/-/issues/1459) - [ ] Verify at scale, operationalize processes, and measure outcomes **In Progress** ## Think Both Short Term and Long Term We want to develop a better prioritization framework for GitLab the company in the short term. Over the long term, we want to [build prioritization frameworks](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/202041) into GitLab so other organizations can leverage them.