Imagine releasing a new app feature and discovering users aren’t engaging with it the way you expected. So, what went wrong? Often, it’s a missing feedback loop. A feedback loop is basically an ongoing dialogue between your users and your product team. It consists of five key steps: collecting, organizing, implementing, following up, and communicating feedback. So, you put a feature out there, users try it, share what works (and what doesn’t), your team learns from that feedback, makes improvements, and lets users know about the changes. Then, the cycle restarts with fresh feedback.  Over time, this creates a system that continually improves your product and keeps it aligned with real user needs.

This process is at the heart of building products that truly put users first. Skip it – or collect feedback messily – and you risk creating features that miss the point. Without a systematic approach, product teams can drift away from the people who actually use their apps. A well-designed feedback loop changes all that: it not only improves product quality but also earns users’ trust and keeps them coming back.

Feedback loops aren’t just a nice-to-have – they can make or break a product. In this article, we’ll explore how they help build better products, and share how our team put this approach into practice while building the Advanced File Gallery app for monday.com.

Gathering user feedback: User tests combined with broad insights 

Every feedback loop begins with one simple rule: listening to users. It’s not about guessing or relying on assumptions – it’s about understanding how people actually use your product, what excites them, and where they get stuck. Behind every comment or opinion lies a real user need, which should guide your development decisions.

Collecting feedback early and often is key. That’s exactly how we approached building Advanced File Gallery. Before releasing the app, we ran user tests with early adopters from the monday.com community to validate our assumptions about the item view and overall design. The insights we gathered confirmed we were on the right track and helped shape the product from the very beginning.

Next, we reached out to a wider audience. We posted in the monday.com community to start conversations and gave quieter users a chance to share their thoughts on their own time. To make participation more inviting, we offered free subscriptions as a thank-you and used simple feedback forms to gather practical, actionable opinions. This step turned out to be incredibly valuable. It revealed a need we hadn’t even considered: users wanted a way to filter files by specific criteria. That single insight made a real difference in shaping the product as it was something we hadn’t even thought of initially. It turned out to make a huge difference in usability and overall flow. Before, users had to manually dig through files just to find and add the right ones to a collection. Now, with filtering, it only takes a few clicks to add a bunch of files at once.  Simple, but it saves tons of time and makes the whole experience way smoother. 

The takeaway? Ask the right questions where your users already are, and show them that their feedback genuinely matters. That kind of engagement doesn’t just improve your product — it uncovers insights you might never get otherwise.

Internal feedback loops as fresh perspectives 

Feedback doesn’t just come from users — great ideas can come from your own team, too. That’s why internal feedback is a regular part of our process. During sprint reviews, team members who aren’t directly involved in the project get a chance to take a fresh look at the app. Their outside perspective often surfaces things we might have missed while being too close to the work every day. For instance, during one sprint review, someone suggested a simple “Select All” feature for managing filtered files. It was a small idea, but it made a huge difference for usability. 

By blending external user feedback with internal insights, we get a fuller picture of what works, what doesn’t, and what could make the experience even better. It’s a reminder that innovation can come from anywhere – not just from your users.

Mixing qualitative & quantitative feedback: Tools and techniques

Gathering feedback is essential, but it’s only half the story. Understanding it is where the magic happens. To get a complete picture of how users experience the app, we combine qualitative feedback (the “why”) with quantitative data (the “what”).

Qualitative feedback comes from user comments, surveys, and usability tests. It helps us uncover motivations, frustrations, and the context behind users’ actions. Quantitative data, on the other hand, includes metrics like clicks, time spent, and conversion rates. These numbers reveal how people actually interact with the product and help validate our assumptions.

Bringing the two together allows us to make evidence-based decisions, rather than guessing what users want. For example, a user might say, “It’s hard to find certain files,” and the analytics may confirm a low click rate on the filter button. It’s a clear signal for improvement, as it usually means the placement of the filter button isn’t very practical or intuitive. So even though the feature exists, users aren’t taking advantage of it simply because they can’t easily access it or don’t realize it’s there. 

Using a variety of tools and channels ensures the process is thorough and effective, helping us capture everything that matters. The goal is simple and clear: to understand both what users say and what they actually do.

Closing the loop: Communicating back to users

Feedback only matters if you act on it – and that’s exactly what closing the loop is all about. Showing users that their ideas lead to real improvements builds trust and makes them champions of your product.  

With Advanced File Gallery, we use several approaches to close the loop. We send direct messages to thank users for their feedback and highlight improvements inspired by their input. We also share updates publicly on LinkedIn and in the monday.com community. Whenever someone mentions a feature in a thread, we make sure to tag them and give them a little shout-out.

This kind of transparent communication sparks a positive cycle: users feel invested in the product, share even more ideas, and are more likely to recommend the app to others. It creates a culture where feedback isn’t just data – it becomes action.

In short, closing the loop doesn’t just improve your app: it builds lasting relationships with the people who use it.

Product improvement and innovation driven by consistent feedback loops

Every great product has one thing in common: it never stops learning from its users. Continuous feedback loops turn that learning into action. Every comment, survey response, or data point becomes part of a bigger conversation that drives the product forward — moving teams from “we think” to “we know.” It’s a rhythm of testing, listening, and improving that keeps innovation alive long after launch day.

When users see their feedback shape a new feature or inspire a smoother workflow, something powerful happens: they start to feel like co-creators, not just customers. That sense of involvement builds trust, and trust naturally grows into loyalty. Over time, these small cycles of listening and responding create more than just better apps – they build a relationship where users feel their voices truly matter. And that’s where real innovation happens: not in a meeting room, but in the conversation between teams and the users who inspire their products.

Key takeaways: Building a culture of continuous feedback

Feedback isn’t just data – it’s context. It’s not only about what users say, but why they say it.

Sometimes, a single comment from a user test can reveal a deeper UX issue than dozens of survey results, as it uncovers the reasoning behind users’ behavior. A handful of smart approaches to feedback can transform insights into meaningful product improvements.

• Collect feedback early and often. Don’t wait for a major release to start listening – small insights can prevent big problems later.
• Combine multiple sources. Mix qualitative feedback (comments, interviews, usability tests) with quantitative data (clicks, time spent, conversion rates) to make evidence-based decisions.
• Close the loop with users. Show that their input leads to real changes. Even small acknowledgments build trust and boost engagement.
• Make it part of your culture. Encourage teams to see feedback as a living process, not a one-time checkbox. When listening and iterating become habits, products improve faster, and users feel heard.
  

Through continuous feedback loops, you don’t just create better apps – you transform feedback into high-quality features and lasting user relationships.