👁️Best practices for views

Introduction: Why Use Views in Cycle?

Views in Cycle are your gateway to efficiently managing and organizing all the data and tasks related to your product management process. By creating and customizing views, you can streamline your workflow, focus on what matters most, and ensure that everyone on your team is aligned. Whether you're handling customer feedback, planning your roadmap, or tracking progress, views are central to making Cycle work for you.

1. How to Create and Customize a View

A View in Cycle is a customizable tool that displays data tailored to your specific needs. To create and customize a view:

• Step 1: Open View Configuration: Access the view settings from your workspace.

• Step 2: Choose Your Document Type: Decide what type of data (feedback, features, tasks) you want to display.

• Step 3: Set Up Filters and Groups: Apply filters to display only the data you need, and organize your view by grouping data based on properties like squad, status, or time horizon.

• Step 4: Save, Pin, and Organize: Once satisfied, save your view, pin it to your sidebar for quick access, and consider adding it to a section for better organization.

2. Basic Views to Get Started

• Feedback Inbox: A dynamic view that shows all new feedback requiring processing. Filters can be set to only display unprocessed items, helping you achieve "inbox zero."

• Squad-Specific Views: Create views that filter data by squad, allowing each team to focus on their specific tasks without distractions.

• High-Level Roadmap: Provide a bird's-eye view of your product roadmap, ideal for executive-level updates. Group features or tasks by time horizon (e.g., Now, Soon, Later) to give a clear snapshot of what’s coming down the pipeline.

3. Tips: Pinning Views and Organizing in Sections

• Pinning a View: Pin important views to your sidebar for easy access. This is particularly useful for views you need to check frequently.

• Organizing in Sections: Use sections to group related views together. For example, create sections for different squads or for different phases of your product management workflow (e.g., Feedback, Analysis, Roadmap).

4. Best Practice Views

• Sprint-Level Feature Pipeline: Track the progress of features and tasks from ideation to delivery. This view, grouped by status, helps Agile teams monitor what’s being worked on, what’s next, and ensures that nothing falls through the cracks.

• Problem-Solution Nested View: Organize problems and their associated features, helping you systematically address customer pain points. This view is ideal for prioritizing work based on the problems your users are facing.

5. Use Cases: Tailoring Views for Your Team

• Views for Multiple PMs: When your team grows and multiple PMs are involved, create squad-specific views that allow each PM to focus on their domain. For example, each PM could have a dedicated feedback inbox, filtered by their product area or squad.

• Views for Strategic Prioritization: If your goal is to prioritize features based on customer segments, create views that filter feedback or features by customer ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) to focus on the most impactful requests.

• Views for Agile Teams: Set up sprint-level views grouped by status to track tasks and features through different stages of development, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.

6. FAQ: Tips and Remarks from the Cycle Team

Q: Why can't I see certain documents in my view? Does this mean they are deleted? A: No, it's not because you don't see a document in a view that it doesn't exist. It simply means that the document doesn't meet the filters applied in your current view. You can adjust the filters or check other views to locate the document.

Q: How can I efficiently manage feedback across multiple squads? A: Create squad-specific views that filter feedback according to the squad responsible. Each squad can then focus on processing their relevant feedback without being overwhelmed by data from other areas.

Q: What should I do when scaling teams and organizing views becomes complex? A: Use sections to organize views by squads or phases of work. For example, create sections like "Feedback Processing," "Sprint Planning," and "Delivery" to group related views together, making it easier to navigate and manage your workspace.

Q: How can I ensure my views are always aligned with our current priorities? A: Regularly update your filters and groupings in each view to reflect any changes in strategy or focus. This ensures that your views remain relevant and useful as your team’s needs evolve.

Q: Is it possible to share views across different teams or squads? A: Yes, views can be duplicated and shared across teams. One squad can create a set of effective views, which can then be duplicated and slightly adjusted for another squad, ensuring consistency and efficiency across the organization.

Conclusion: Optimize Your Workflow with Custom Views

Views in Cycle are powerful tools that adapt to your workflow and scale with your team. By mastering the creation, customization, and organization of views, you can ensure that your product management process is as efficient and effective as possible. Start with basic views, then evolve your setup as your needs grow, ensuring Cycle continues to meet your team’s dynamic requirements.