If you’ve ever spent time on jira.atlassian.com, you’ve seen firsthand how massive public feedback systems can get and how hard they are to manage at scale.
A short history of JAC
Back in 2004, when I joined Atlassian, JAC was one of our most valuable tools as a product team. It connected us directly with customers and created an incredibly fast feedback loop. You could release something one day and see real reactions the next. It was open, transparent, and completely in line with Atlassian’s values.
Here’s an example of how powerful that feedback could be in action: BSERV-2462.
But as Atlassian grew, that openness started to create new challenges. Keeping up with new requests was already hard. Maintaining updates across thousands of items quickly became impossible.
We had a rotating PM role dedicated to triage and replying to tickets. Even with structure and good intent, it was a huge amount of work. As discussions grew louder and more emotional, many PMs and other Atlassians became hesitant to comment at all. A single update could trigger hundreds of replies, and people worried that saying the wrong thing could create problems for them later.
We debated what to do, whether to shut JAC down or move it elsewhere, but neither option felt right. Closing it went against the company’s open culture, and moving it would not have solved the underlying problem.
Where Public Voting Falls Short
On paper, public voting looks fair. The features with the most votes must be the ones customers want most, right?
In reality, it’s not that simple.
Popularity doesn’t equal value. Sometimes an idea blows up because it gets shared in a user group or a few passionate voices rally behind it. Meanwhile, smaller but more important requests fall through the cracks. And nuance gets lost. Take JRACLOUD-96247. The title suggests one thing, but most comments are about something completely different.
Then add in the realities of product development: strategy, dependencies, resourcing, and trade-offs. All the things votes don’t account for.
Over time, the feedback stops being useful. Customers feel like their input disappears into a void, and teams feel overwhelmed trying to respond. The once-valuable feedback loop becomes a never-ending backlog that no one can keep up with.
Why It’s Not All Bad
To be fair, public voting has its strengths. It’s simple, transparent, and great for engagement. It can show broad trends and help identify themes.
But votes alone don’t make feedback actionable. They don’t explain why something matters or how it fits your product strategy. Without that context, it’s just noise.
A Better Alternative: Wishlists
When we designed feedback in Released, our app for sharing Jira roadmaps and collecting feedback, we wanted to keep the good parts of voting such as simplicity and transparency, while fixing its core flaws.
The result is Wishlists.
Instead of public votes, each customer creates their own private list of features or improvements that matter most to them, free from bias or groupthink.
Every wish links directly to a Jira issue, so product managers can see not just what users want but who wants it, and they can follow up easily.
Why Wishlists Work Better
Reduces bias: Each user creates their own personal list, reflecting their real needs rather than what is trending.
Forces prioritization: With a limited number of wishes, users think carefully about what matters most.
Manages expectations: Without public vote counts, customers don’t develop unrealistic expectations.
Stays connected to the work: Every wish links directly to Jira, keeping feedback in the same place the work happens.
Managing Expectations
Wishlists alone are not a silver bullet. What you choose to share matters just as much.
Do not publish every feature request you have ever received. Focus on ideas your team is actively considering for the next 12 months. Everything beyond that just adds noise.
Users can still submit feedback on anything, and you can connect it internally to existing ideas. This way, your public roadmap stays clear and trustworthy, and your customers get a realistic view of what is ahead.
Build what matters
If you want to better engage your customers and actually build features that matter, install Released via the Atlassian Marketplace.
And if you want to learn more, schedule a demo.
