Triaging a feature request from a customer or an internal partner

Someone hands you a requirement, either an internal stakeholder or a customer. What do you do with it, from the moment it arrives to a decision? ```hint Get beneath the ask Requests usually arrive already shaped as a solution. Before judging the solution, find the problem and outcome behind it, then decide how that problem competes with everything else you could build. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Should I cover both internal stakeholders, such as merchandising, operations or a senior leader, and external customers, or focus on one? - Is the requirement phrased as a specific solution or as a problem to solve? - Does it come with a deadline, a contract or a compliance obligation, or is it one request among many? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - Uncovering the underlying problem, evidence and urgency instead of taking the request literally - Sizing how many users or which business goals it affects, using data beyond the requester's word - Exploring solution options with engineering and design, then prioritizing against the roadmap with explicit criteria - Communicating the decision, including a "no" or "not now", in a way that preserves the relationship - How the approach changes for a senior leader's request, a large customer's demand or a legal requirement ### Follow-up Questions - A senior leader insists on the requirement and your data does not support it. What do you do? - One large customer will leave without this, but nobody else needs it. How do you decide? - How do you keep track of requests you declined so you notice when they start to form a pattern?