You versus users - who owns your roadmap? (keynote)

Abstract

Requirement Engineering can become complex when the number of users who submit requirements is large. In the world of online Software as a Service businesses, the number of users can be massive - often in the millions. In the case of SurveyMonkey, the world's largest survey company, it can be in the tens of millions. In a world with increasing demands and where users have a louder voice than ever via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, how does one prioritize feature requests, bug fixes and everything else requested by customers and partners? Is the roadmap in the hands of the company or the users? Is this a winnable battle? In this talk, I will tell the story of how product requirements were determined when Fluidware was first established almost eight years ago and how it evolved in the various accelerated growth stages of the company before and after acquisition by SurveyMonkey.