How UX researchers should influence the product roadmap
User research provides the evidence you need to build a customer-driven product roadmap. Learn how to communicate clear research goals and when to involve UX researchers.| Aha! Blog
User research provides the evidence you need to build a customer-driven product roadmap. Learn how to communicate clear research goals and when to involve UX researchers.| Aha! Blog
Supercharge your whiteboards with the Aha! AI assistant. Speed up everything from planning and collaboration to user flow diagrams and wireframes.| Aha! Blog
Track knowledge base usage and search trends in Aha! Knowledge. Keep your content accurate and discoverable for customers.| Aha! Blog
Mentorship seems like a badge of honor but is it actually helping anyone? This post challenges the idea that everyone should mentor and makes the case for focusing on real expertise and meaningful results instead.| Aha! Blog
Use whiteboards in Aha! Discovery to visually analyze customer interviews. Map insights to the customer journey to uncover key themes.| Aha! Blog
Product managers can use AI wireframes to clarify intent, collaborate better with UX, and cut down on rework early in product planning.| www.aha.io
We all must do what we do not enjoy at times. Writing, data analysis, conflict — you cannot avoid the gristly parts of work. Here is how to embrace them.| www.aha.io
Leaders create an environment that fosters continual improvement when they: 1. Hire for achievement. 2. Invest in training. 3. Keep raising the standard.| www.aha.io
The MVP is a curse for ambitious technology companies that want to grow. You should be thinking about what it will take for customers to love you, not tolerate you.| www.aha.io
The Aha! Framework is a flexible model for improving efficiency and increasing value delivered to customers. It seamlessly integrates strategic planning and agile delivery into a defined, proven model for product development. The aim is to deliver a Minimum Lovable Product.| www.aha.io
Agile methodologies and product development frameworks help people make informed decisions and collaborate efficiently. But process pedantry never leads to anything good. You want to find the sweet spot between "We know why we are doing this" and "We know how to do this."| www.aha.io
Generate data-informed development estimates in Aha! Teamwork and Aha! Develop using past team performance. Plan roadmaps with confidence and stay on track.| Aha! Blog
Run focus groups in Aha! Discovery to capture rich customer insights. Schedule group sessions, analyze transcripts with AI, and link findings to your roadmap.| Aha! Blog
Learn how to use AI tools in Aha! to unlock valuable insights from outdated product requirements documents. Turn legacy docs into actionable, strategy-aligned input.| Aha! Blog
Use the improved search experience in Salesforce to quickly find existing feedback in Aha! Ideas. Sales and support teams can now find, link, and submit product feedback with ease.| Aha! Blog
Microsoft added Aha! to its Microsoft 365 Copilot connector ecosystem. Index and search features and ideas from Aha! software directly in Microsoft 365 apps including Copilot, Outlook, and Teams.| Aha! Blog
Discover the new AI prompt library in Aha! software curated prompts for the AI assistant to help product teams work smarter and innovate faster.| Aha! Blog
Import related records on Aha! Whiteboards to visualize connections across your work, align plans, and refine your roadmap.| Aha! Blog
Automatically adjust downstream dependencies in Aha! Roadmaps, Aha! Teamwork, and Aha! Develop. Keep plans in sync and avoid manual updates when schedules change.| Aha! Blog
Make scheduling customer interviews effortless with the Aha! Discovery Microsoft Outlook integration. With calendar sync, you can avoid the rescheduling hassle and focus on gathering insights that drive product innovation.| www.aha.io
Create custom workflows in Aha! Knowledge to streamline reviews, ensure accuracy, and publish high-quality documentation with confidence.| Aha! Blog
See sprints, features, and progress on a timeline view in Aha! Teamwork and Aha! Develop. Share clear plans so everyone knows what is coming and when.| Aha! Blog
Meet Michael, a principal software engineer on our team. Discover his career path from academia to Aha! see if a career here is right for you.| Aha! Blog
Update roadmap records instantly with smart zones in Aha! Whiteboards. This turns planning sessions into action without extra work.| Aha! Blog
Quickly switch between lists, roadmaps, charts, and reports in Aha! Roadmaps with the same data set and filters. Get the exact perspective you need without rebuilding reports or roadmaps from scratch.| Aha! Blog
Many leaders claim an AI strategy, but lack clarity. Getting the most benefit out of AI means going back to the basics and grounding your strategy in reality.| Aha! Blog
Manage customer feedback visually with the new Aha! Ideas board. Organize, prioritize, and promote requests with ease.| www.aha.io
Susan landed her dream job — she was a Sr. Product Manager at a fast-growing company. I knew here well. She got to work with brilliant people every day, building an amazing product. The culture was great and the team was focused on building something lasting. she was happy.| www.aha.io
You have come to expect bad service. You hate calling the bank, right? You just know you will spend a good part of your morning on hold. And you can predict with accuracy how an employee at the home improvement store will respond when you ask about a certain item: “If it’s not on the shelf, we don’t have it.”| www.aha.io
Agile has never been more popular — or more misunderstood. There seems to be a popular concept that planning has very little part in an Agile methodology. But being Agile is much more than being reactive. It means being proactive — having a plan, while being flexible enough to change that plan when necessary.| www.aha.io
Who is the most misunderstood in technology? I would say it is the person who plans what will be built next. This person — often called the product manager — is a puzzler to many. Just consider how many different job titles are used for people who do the work of product management: product manager, product owner, business analyst, and even program or project manager sometimes. To keep it simple — let’s refer to these folks as product managers.| www.aha.io
Features vs. benefits. Which are more important? As a product manager, you need to focus on both. Because you are responsible for making sure that the right functionality gets built and that your product delivers real value to customers. But it is easy to get so caught up in what your product can do that you lose sight of why those capabilities matter to customers.| www.aha.io
There are certain phrases that make a product manager cringe. For me, it is when customers refer to the process of submitting feedback as throwing ideas into a “black hole.” Ouch. I never want a customer to feel this way. This is one reason why our team at Aha! created a new goal this year: zero unreviewed customer ideas. Seriously.| www.aha.io
Have you heard of the Wong-Baker FACES® scale? You may not know the name but I bet you would recognize it immediately. This numerical and visual pain rating scale shows several cartoon faces in increasing amounts of pain — from smiling (zero) to crying (10). No matter how young a patient is or what language they speak, they can use the scale to communicate their current level of suffering.| www.aha.io
You are so busy that you are tired. Really tired. Seven-days-a-week, 12-hours-a-day tired. And you still have more to do, more than seems possible for just one person. But you are not the only one — this is how it always is for company founders. You are consistently on the edge of too much, but you will go until you cannot go anymore. And then you do it again the next day.| www.aha.io
You start the day off ready to cruise through your schedule and To-do list. And then… the speed bumps appear out of nowhere. Impromptu meetings. Last-minute requests. Fire drills from the sales team. If this sounds like your typical work day, I have good news for you — you are a fortunate product manager.| www.aha.io
Zero is a winning number. I aim to tick off every item on my to-do list each day. This includes reviewing product ideas as they come in. Yes, it is hard to hit that “0” consistently. But for product managers, it shows that you are being responsive and efficient. Even better, you are not missing any opportunities to delight customers.| www.aha.io
When is the last time you expressed gratitude to a co-worker? I am not talking about a quick “thanks” in an email. I am talking about taking a moment to tell them why you are grateful — for how they contribute to the team and how they make your own work better.| www.aha.io
What does it mean if someone calls you bold? It could be that your actions seem courageous. Or that you take risks and have a certain fearlessness to your character. But it does not necessarily mean you are thoughtful. Although it should. Because boldness requires listening and openness too — traits that are sorely needed today.| www.aha.io
The most common input in Aha! is text. Think about it — you use the text editor constantly. From capturing notes to adding descriptions for upcoming work, you spend a lot of time writing. But often, the message you want to share is more than just words. You want to inspire everyone by telling your story with exceptional clarity. Your goal is to inspire. So, we gave the text editor a major upgrade to help you do just that.| www.aha.io
Dozens of support articles. 58 marketing activities completed. And hundreds of screenshots. This is just a sampling of the work that went into the launch of Aha! for Marketing. Our team felt an enormous sense of accomplishment on the morning of the launch. And despite the fact that we all work remotely, folks still got together to celebrate — hopping on a video meeting to cheer as the new product went live.| www.aha.io
Something different. This is what my co-founder Dr. Chris Waters and I had in mind when we founded Aha! five years ago. We had spent nearly 20 years working in Silicon Valley and building breakthrough products at both large technology companies and smaller startups. And in plain terms — we were successful in lots of meaningful ways but we experienced a lot we did not like in the process.| www.aha.io
We are building a different kind of technology company at Aha! No venture funding, no offices, and no salespeople. A company that has been highly profitable from the start. We are proud of the value that we have created for customers and the team. And it fills us with gratitude when others recognize this as well.| www.aha.io
I recently shared some good news with you — Aha! was named Company of the Year in the Stevie Awards’ 2018 American Business Awards. I also shared that this recognition was a perfect moment for the Aha! team. It is humbling when others recognize your success. And I am excited to announce that we just won another prestigious award.| www.aha.io
We are proud of what we have built at Aha! — and people have started to take notice. Today I am thrilled to share that we have received more recognition from our peers in the software industry.| www.aha.io
Product managers are busy people who are always on the go. Your days are packed — in and out of meetings, status updates with the team, and talking with customers. You need to be able to track progress against your product plans quickly, no matter where you are. How do we know this? We are product managers too| www.aha.io
“If only I had more hours in the day.” I bet you have wished for just this — maybe a few hours to finish up a task or 5 more minutes to proofread an email. Tempting, especially when you feel overwhelmed by multiple projects and impending deadlines. But finding more time is impossible. And time alone will certainly not make anyone more productive.| www.aha.io
I never imagined that I would talk with our company about a pandemic. But for many leaders, last week brought the unimaginable. It did for me on Wednesday, which I typically set aside for deep introspection and strategy. I spent that afternoon going through my own assumptions about the potential impact of coronavirus on the world, our company, our customers, and our team. Those reflections were the basis for a heartfelt conversation with the entire Aha! team last Friday.| www.aha.io
What do dates, dependencies, and blockers have in common? Big projects. I am talking about product releases, software rollouts, and marketing launches — major cross-functional efforts. Many of you rely on the Gantt chart in Aha! to coordinate all the details. And over the last few months, we have been working on our own big project.| www.aha.io
If you are a product manager, you know how challenging it is to get leadership buy-in for a big new investment. But to build what customers really need, you must be able to show the executive team that your vision is sound. This is where a business case comes in — it is an argument for why your organization should take action, based on research and insight.| www.aha.io
Everyone loves a good story, right? And if you are a marketer, you are telling meaningful stories every day — whether you realize it or not. The messaging you write, the advertisements you create, and the content you publish. But like any good storyteller, you need to understand what will appeal to your audience.| www.aha.io
Are you a strategic product manager? Find out which 3 traits all strategic product leaders have and how to embrace strategy to build great products.| www.aha.io
You rely heavily on other teams for product success. That is the story of being a product manager. So naturally, it makes your job a lot tougher when other teams are not supportive. Criticizing the roadmap. Trash-talking product decisions behind your back. Pushing different messages and functionality when meeting with customers. And it often seems to come from one group more than others — the sales team.| www.aha.io
Black accents or aluminum? That was the last industrial design decision we had to make when nearing the launch of our Movband 3 fitness activity tracker. Our design team was split for months, but now we needed to make the call quickly.| www.aha.io
Can product managers predict the future? When it comes to customers, I often argue that the answer is “yes.” This is because product managers are skilled at anticipating what is up ahead — the problems that customers will face and the solutions they need. But seeing this does not require a crystal ball.| www.aha.io
Difficult work is often the most rewarding. This is especially true for those in leadership roles. I am incredibly proud of our software and the high-growth business we built at Aha! — but I am even more proud of the leaders we have helped grow. I am amazed at how we have grown our leadership team entirely from within the company.| www.aha.io
A goal-first mindset is key to success. Learn how to use our product roadmapping tool as a framework for setting goals and sharing your product strategy.| www.aha.io
Increase conversions. Decrease acquisition cost. This is the constant push-pull for marketing teams. How do you grow the number of people who engage with your ads, while simultaneously lowering the money you spend to do so? And how do you optimize to ensure those folks turn into real paying customers? These are not easy questions. And the problem is that you are too busy buried in the day-to-day tactical work to deeply ponder the answers.| www.aha.io
“But why?” You have probably heard this question countless times if you are a parent. Children have a seemingly insatiable curiosity to learn the reasons and causes for things. This yearning tends to diminish as we get older. But knowing “why” is important for people of all ages and it is critical in business. I am going to focus on why it matters to product and marketing teams at fast-moving technology companies.| www.aha.io
Are product roadmaps and marketing roadmaps the same? Follow this breakdown to learn the differences between product roadmaps and marketing roadmaps.| www.aha.io
“Why are we building this?” This is a painful question for product managers. Maybe you have mumbled it when sales pushed through a new feature to close a deal. Or when leadership decided to pivot plans based on one big, angry customer. The reason for your “what are we even doing” inner monologue — there is no clear vision for what you should and should not invest in.| www.aha.io
Tell me if this sounds familiar. After a strategic planning session, the marketing team agrees on a high-level roadmap for the next quarter. You are excited to get to work. But then one teammate learns about a new ad platform. And another just got back from a conference and wants to start a company podcast. Everyone is going in a different direction. Suddenly, your solid plan feels more like a franken-plan.| www.aha.io
“Vision.” What does this word mean to you? I define it as knowing what you want to accomplish and where you want to go. In business, it can be difficult to determine what your vision is and then commit to it. Of course, this is a lot easier if you are the CEO of a company. Everyone looks to you to set the strategy and wants to know how they can help make the company a success.| www.aha.io
Powerful people do not work well together. At least, that is what one study suggests. Researchers concluded that when working in a group, powerful people underperform and fight over status and decision-making authority. To which I say: If key leaders cannot cooperate, how can they expect the broader team to create anything meaningful together?| www.aha.io
Product managers are the navigation system of a company. Think about it like GPS. When you enter an address into GPS, you get the final destination — as well as a list of the turns you need to make in order to get there. Product managers essentially do the same thing for an organization.| www.aha.io
Putting strategy into action can be difficult. That is because too many teams jump straight to the “how” before they agree on the “why” and the “what.” Typically this leap happens because there is a lack of clarity and transparency across the organization, especially as it relates to strategy. And inevitably, poor planning tools are in the mix. But the move-first mentality is unfortunately all too common.| www.aha.io
Have you ever given a roadmap presentation that felt more like an interrogation? Learn how to effectively present your product roadmap to the executive team.| www.aha.io
People love sharing their opinions. Customers and teammates are usually willing to tell you what they think you should do with your product if you ask. This is a good problem to have. The hard part is deciding which of those ideas will have the biggest impact.| www.aha.io
Lightweight business plans are not just for startups. These tools can be just as valuable for product managers at big companies with established products. Because even if you are not capturing plans to develop and build your company’s first offering, you still need to make a business case for the opportunity you are pursuing.| www.aha.io
Keep your knowledge base accurate and consistent with reusable snippets in Aha! Knowledge. Update a snippet once, and changes instantly appear everywhere.| Aha! Blog
Capture requests and feedback from Slack in Aha! Teamwork and Aha! Develop. Keep all your work in sync and make sure nothing slips through the cracks.| Aha! Blog
Struggling to make sense of ambiguous customer feedback? Learn how product managers and UX designers can synthesize interview data and use frameworks to find clarity and build what truly matters.| Aha! Blog
Accelerate product discovery with Aha! Discovery's AI assistant. Instantly analyze interviews, find insights, and surface themes no manual work required.| Aha! Blog
Turn highlighted text into Aha! records to quickly capture ideas, features, and to-dos and connect notes directly to your product roadmap.| Aha! Blog
Unlock smarter planning with the updated cycle and lead time report in Aha! Teamwork and Aha! Develop. Track delivery trends, set more accurate targets, and improve team performance.| Aha! Blog
Get an inside look at how we approach product discovery on the Aha! team — with real examples and practical tips you can use to improve your customer research process right now.| www.aha.io
It is not so simple as "AI is replacing people and taking all the tech jobs." AI investments are expensive, and markets are stalled. Companies do not want to be left behind, and the cost needs to be offset with savings from somewhere.| Aha! Blog
Link interview highlights from Aha! Discovery to personas in Aha! Roadmaps to give the team a deeper understanding of who you are building for.| Aha! Blog
Write clear documents faster with the new Aha! text editor now with snippets, inline files, Aha! record links, and built-in AI writing help.| Aha! Blog
Discover the new AI assistant in Aha! software purpose-built to help product teams move faster from discovery to delivery.| Aha! Blog
AI is transforming product development. But the need for strategy and clear thinking is timeless. Get inspired to build strategic roadmaps that rally the team and help you ship what matters.| www.aha.io
Speed up your wireframing process with new pre-built blocks in Aha! Whiteboards. Quickly mock up flows, get feedback, and keep design work moving.| Aha! Blog
A product is only real when someone is willing to pay. This blog explores how to lead early customer conversations by staying grounded in current value and asking for real commitment.| Aha! Blog
Discover what's new in Aha! software. See the top product updates from Q2 2025 — including the launch of Aha! Teamwork.| www.aha.io
Struggling to recruit customers for product discovery interviews? Here are better ways to plan your outreach and engage the right people (without resorting to gift cards).| www.aha.io
Analyze customer interview highlights with a new list report in Aha! Discovery. Filter by tag, date, and highlight type to uncover patterns. Then, share insights with the team to strengthen product decisions.| www.aha.io
Now, create multi-select polls in Aha! Ideas to let customers choose more than one answer. Understand customer needs more comprehensively to inform product decisions.| www.aha.io
As a digital marketing manager on the Aha! team, Justin makes an impact by driving awareness of our product development tools. Get his career story.| www.aha.io
Aha! has been recognized for our exceptional company culture. Learn why Inc. has selected Aha! as one of the best places to work in 2025.| www.aha.io
Add customizable interview tags to transcripts in Aha! Discovery to better organize customer feedback and label the findings that are most important for your team.| www.aha.io
The best customer interviews feel less like information-gathering and more like joint investigation. Use this list of 20 thoughtful prompts to uncover tangible insights and guide product discovery.| Aha! Blog
Automatically calculate release capacity in Aha! Roadmaps based on workdays and team availability. Plan realistic releases and avoid overcommitting the team.| Aha! Blog
Will AI-aided product development force teams back to a more waterfall approach? Aha! CEO Brian de Haaff says it is time to be less agile to build better products.| Aha! Blog
Import Salesforce contacts into Aha! Discovery along with key fields like title, organization, and interview approval so you always know who is eligible for outreach and what makes them a good fit.| Aha! Blog
Reach more customers with translated documentation. Learn how to enable real-time translations in Aha! Knowledge Advanced and deliver consistent support in 70+ languages.| Aha! Blog
Link interview highlights from Aha! Discovery directly to your roadmap. Use customer evidence including quotes and AI-generated learnings to validate product decisions and clearly show why your plans matter.| Aha! Blog
Interviews involve actively seeking new insights. Feedback comes to you. Both are essential for channeling the voice of the customer into product decisions here's how.| Aha! Blog
Apply filters to your Ideas overview page in Aha! Roadmaps and Aha! Ideas. Focus on the feedback that matters most and gain faster insights to guide product decisions.| Aha! Blog
Checking out top whiteboard software? See how Mural and Miro compare to Aha! Whiteboards. We cover features, pricing, and the best use cases for each tool.| Aha! Blog
Save and reuse custom shapes in Aha! Whiteboards including SVGs from Figma to quickly create clear, consistent visuals.| Aha! Blog
