What This Template Is For
Most product teams collect feedback. Few do it in a way that actually changes what gets built. Feedback arrives through support tickets, sales calls, Slack messages, NPS surveys, and user interviews. Without a consistent structure, it piles up in disconnected tools and gets summarized as "users want it to be faster" with no way to trace back to the original source or measure how many people share the sentiment.
This template gives you a repeatable format for logging individual feedback entries and then synthesizing them into patterns your team can act on. Each entry captures the source, the exact quote, the user segment, the sentiment, and a theme tag. The synthesis table rolls those entries into prioritized themes with frequency counts and recommended actions. If you want to go deeper on understanding what users need, the Product Discovery Handbook walks through the full discovery process from initial research through validation.
The feedback structure here is designed to work alongside quantitative signals. Pair it with the NPS Calculator to correlate verbatim feedback with satisfaction scores, or use the Kano Model to classify feature requests into must-haves, performance drivers, and delighters. The goal is to build a feedback system, not just a feedback form.
When to Use This Template
- After a product launch or major release. Capture early reactions while they are specific and unfiltered. The first two weeks of feedback after a release are the most actionable.
- During continuous discovery. Log feedback from every user touchpoint (support, sales, interviews, surveys) in one place so themes emerge over time.
- Before quarterly planning. Synthesize the last quarter's feedback to identify which themes should influence the roadmap.
- When onboarding a new PM. Hand over the feedback log so they can see the unfiltered voice of the user without relying on secondhand summaries.
- When resolving cross-functional disagreements. Instead of debating opinions, point to the feedback log. "Here are 14 users who described this exact problem" is more persuasive than any stakeholder's hunch.
- When preparing a business case for a feature. Pull verbatim quotes and frequency data from the log to ground your proposal in real user evidence.
How to Use This Template
- Set up the feedback log. Copy the blank template into a shared doc, spreadsheet, or Notion database. Every team member who talks to users should have access and know how to add entries.
- Log feedback as it arrives. When you hear something from a user, add a row immediately. Do not batch it for later. The verbatim quote is the most valuable field because it preserves the user's actual language, not your interpretation of it.
- Tag each entry. Assign a theme tag (e.g., "Onboarding", "Performance", "Pricing") and a sentiment (Positive, Neutral, or Negative). Keep the theme list to 10-15 tags maximum. Too many tags defeats the purpose.
- Synthesize weekly or bi-weekly. Review the raw entries and update the synthesis table. Count how many entries map to each theme, note which user segments are most affected, and assign a priority based on frequency and business impact.
- Share the synthesis with your team. The raw log is for the PM. The synthesis table is for the team. Include it in your weekly status update or product review to keep stakeholders connected to what users are saying.
The Template
Part 1: Feedback Log
Use one row per feedback entry. Log every piece of feedback individually, even if multiple users say similar things. The individual entries are what make the synthesis credible.
| # | Date | Source | User Segment | Feature / Area | Verbatim Quote | Sentiment | Theme / Tag | Priority | Action Taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [YYYY-MM-DD] | [Interview / Support / NPS / Sales / Social / Survey] | [Segment name or tier] | [Feature or product area] | "[Exact user words]" | [Positive / Neutral / Negative] | [Theme tag] | [High / Med / Low] | [None / Logged / In Progress / Resolved] |
| 2 | |||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||
| 5 | |||||||||
| 6 | |||||||||
| 7 | |||||||||
| 8 | |||||||||
| 9 | |||||||||
| 10 |
Source categories:
- Interview. Scheduled user interview or customer call
- Support. Support ticket, chat, or bug report
- NPS. Response to an NPS or CSAT survey
- Sales. Feedback from a sales call, demo, or deal debrief
- Social. Public comment on Twitter/X, Reddit, G2, or community forum
- Survey. In-app survey, feature request form, or beta feedback form
Priority guidelines:
- High. Affects a core workflow, reported by multiple users, or blocks adoption for a key segment
- Medium. Affects a secondary workflow or is reported by a single high-value user
- Low. Nice-to-have improvement, minor annoyance, or affects an edge case
Part 2: Theme Synthesis Table
Update this table weekly or bi-weekly by reviewing the raw feedback log. Group entries by theme and summarize the pattern.
| Theme / Tag | Entry Count | Segments Affected | Representative Quote | Sentiment Breakdown | Business Impact | Recommended Action | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Theme 1] | [N] | [Segment list] | "[Best quote]" | [X Neg / Y Neu / Z Pos] | [High / Med / Low] | [Specific next step] | [Name] | [Open / In Progress / Done] |
| [Theme 2] | ||||||||
| [Theme 3] | ||||||||
| [Theme 4] | ||||||||
| [Theme 5] |
Part 3: Feedback Health Metrics
Track these numbers monthly to measure whether your feedback system is working.
| Metric | This Month | Last Month | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total entries logged | [N] | [N] | [N] |
| Unique sources (channels) | [N] | [N] | 3+ |
| Entries with verbatim quotes | [%] | [%] | 80%+ |
| Themes with assigned owner | [%] | [%] | 100% |
| Avg days from feedback to action | [N] | [N] | <14 |
Filled Example: B2B Onboarding Flow Feedback
A PM at a mid-market HR tech company collected feedback over two weeks after shipping a redesigned employer onboarding flow. The product serves HR teams at companies with 50-500 employees.
Feedback Log (Example)
| # | Date | Source | User Segment | Feature / Area | Verbatim Quote | Sentiment | Theme / Tag | Priority | Action Taken |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-02-03 | Interview | Mid-Market HR | Onboarding wizard | "I got stuck on the payroll integration step. There was no skip option and I did not have the API key yet." | Negative | Onboarding-Blocking | High | Logged |
| 2 | 2026-02-03 | Support | SMB HR | Onboarding wizard | "The progress bar disappeared after step 3. I could not tell how much was left." | Negative | Onboarding-UX | Medium | Logged |
| 3 | 2026-02-04 | NPS | Mid-Market HR | Onboarding wizard | "Setup was smooth. Took about 20 minutes which felt reasonable." | Positive | Onboarding-Positive | Low | None |
| 4 | 2026-02-05 | Sales | Enterprise HR | Onboarding wizard | "The prospect asked if they could save progress and come back later. They said their IT team needs to approve each integration separately." | Negative | Onboarding-Blocking | High | Logged |
| 5 | 2026-02-06 | Support | Mid-Market HR | Onboarding wizard | "I completed onboarding but the dashboard still shows the setup banner. Very confusing." | Negative | Onboarding-UX | Medium | In Progress |
| 6 | 2026-02-07 | Interview | SMB HR | Onboarding wizard | "I did not understand why I needed to connect my calendar. It felt like the product was asking for too much access upfront." | Negative | Onboarding-Trust | Medium | Logged |
| 7 | 2026-02-10 | Survey | Mid-Market HR | Onboarding wizard | "Would be great if you had a video walkthrough for each step. I learn better that way." | Neutral | Onboarding-Education | Low | Logged |
| 8 | 2026-02-11 | Support | Enterprise HR | Onboarding wizard | "We need to onboard 12 managers. Is there a bulk setup option? Doing this one at a time is not feasible." | Negative | Onboarding-Scale | High | Logged |
Theme Synthesis (Example)
| Theme / Tag | Entry Count | Segments Affected | Representative Quote | Sentiment Breakdown | Business Impact | Recommended Action | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onboarding-Blocking | 2 | Mid-Market, Enterprise | "I got stuck on the payroll integration step. There was no skip option." | 2 Neg | High | Add skip option for integration steps. Allow save-and-resume. | Sarah (Eng) | In Progress |
| Onboarding-UX | 2 | SMB, Mid-Market | "The progress bar disappeared after step 3." | 2 Neg | Medium | Fix progress bar persistence bug. Clear setup banner after completion. | Jake (Eng) | In Progress |
| Onboarding-Trust | 1 | SMB | "I did not understand why I needed to connect my calendar." | 1 Neg | Medium | Add contextual explanations for each permission request. | Priya (Design) | Open |
| Onboarding-Scale | 1 | Enterprise | "We need to onboard 12 managers. Doing this one at a time is not feasible." | 1 Neg | High | Scope bulk onboarding for enterprise tier. Add to Q2 roadmap discussion. | PM (Self) | Open |
| Onboarding-Education | 1 | Mid-Market | "Would be great if you had a video walkthrough for each step." | 1 Neu | Low | Add short Loom-style videos per step in Q3. | Content Team | Open |
| Onboarding-Positive | 1 | Mid-Market | "Setup was smooth. Took about 20 minutes." | 1 Pos | Low | No action. Use as baseline benchmark (20 min). | - | Done |
Synthesis Notes (Example)
Top finding. Two of the three high-priority themes are about blocking users mid-flow. The onboarding wizard requires sequential completion but users often lack all the information (API keys, IT approvals) in a single session. This is the highest-impact fix.
Segment pattern. Enterprise users hit scale and approval issues that SMB users do not. This suggests the onboarding flow needs a branching path based on company size or a self-serve admin panel for bulk setup.
Positive signal. Users who completed onboarding without blockers reported 20-minute setup times and positive sentiment. The core flow works. The problems are about edge cases and missing escape hatches, not a fundamentally broken experience.
Key Takeaways
- Log feedback individually with verbatim quotes. Summaries lose the signal. The user's exact words are your most persuasive evidence when building a case for a feature.
- Use a fixed set of 10-15 theme tags so patterns emerge. Too many tags means no themes ever hit critical mass.
- Separate the raw log from the synthesis. The log is a record. The synthesis is a decision-making tool. Update the synthesis weekly.
- Track feedback health metrics monthly. If most entries come from one channel (e.g., support only), you are missing signal from other sources.
- Connect feedback to action. A feedback system that never closes the loop teaches your team that logging feedback is pointless. Assign owners and track status.
- Pair qualitative feedback with quantitative data. Use NPS scores and Voice of the Customer analysis to validate whether themes are widespread or isolated incidents.
About This Template
Created by: Tim Adair
Last Updated: 2/19/2026
Version: 1.0.0
License: Free for personal and commercial use