PowerPoint Feedback and UserVoice: Does This Go Anywhere?

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Picture Courtesy: Shawn Villaron

Do you see the dashboard-like screen in the display shown in the picture above? There’s a story behind that display!

Feedback from end users is always important for any product. However, what do you do when the product in question is PowerPoint? Yes, the same PowerPoint presentation program that millions of people have been using for more than 25 years. Predictably, feedback just needs to raise itself to a whole new level.

Microsoft has always made a huge effort in trying to use all the feedback users want to provide, but that is easier said that done. Why? Because all feedback is not the same. Also, feedback received needs to be compiled and then segregated so as to reach the exact teams that are responsible for any feedback area.

In the past, you could use the Microsoft Wish feature and put in a request for your requirements via the Answers forums. Clearly, this was not enough. And thus started the UserVoice initiative.

What is UserVoice?

UserVoice is a site that many companies use to support their products. And PowerPoint is one of the products that’s present on the UserVoice site.

So what happens to all the feedback to submit at UserVoice? Yes, let’s now make this a full circle: the picture you saw earlier is that of a display in the main PM hallway at Microsoft’s Silicon Valley Campus, where the PowerPoint team is based. Through this continuously updated dashboard, the PowerPoint team tracks the site! Besides, they also track Twitter feed live.

Thanks to Shawn Villaron, Partner Group Program Manager at Microsoft who is responsible for the PowerPoint team for sharing this picture, and his insight.

Shawn is based out of the Microsoft Silicon Valley Campus in Sunnyvale, CA.

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