📤Productboard Migration

Heads‑up 🚀 — The Cycle team can handle this migration as part of your onboarding. However, if you prefer a DIY approach, this guide walks you through the entire process using Cycle’s API and some basic CSV transformations.

Introduction

Switching from Productboard to Cycle makes managing feedback easier and faster. Cycle uses a flexible data model that easily adapts as your team and company grow. It helps your teams work together better and keeps customers at the center of your product. Cycle fits nicely with the tools you already use. It also has an easy-to-use API, so you can customize and automate tasks whenever you need to.

Here's exactly how to migrate your data from Productboard to Cycle without losing anything.

Step 1: Export Your Productboard Data

Begin by exporting your data from Productboard:

1. Go to Productboard ⚙️ Settings › Export.

2. Retrieve the essential files (replace your_workspace with your actual workspace name):

   • Notes + linked features: https://[your_workspace].productboard.com/api/notes/export?export_type=with_features

   • Features (HTML): https://[your_workspace].productboard.com/api/features/export

Intercom conversations aren't included by default. You'll need to request this additional CSV from Productboard support if you use Intercom.

Step 2: Reconcile Intercom Conversations

This step is optional for users that integrated Intercom with Productboard

If applicable, merge the separate Intercom conversation file back into your notes export using the intercom_conversation_id.

Step 3: Make Your Taxonomy Fit Your Product, Not the Other Way Around

Current Productboard Structure

Productboard structures data linearly:

Product › Component › Feature › Sub‑feature

Cycle’s Flexible Structure

Cycle organizes taxonomy into two complementary layers:

• Product Area Categories and Nested Product Areas: Typically, the product area category represents a team or squad, while nested product areas represent specific parts of your product.

• Request Types: Items with lifecycle states (Features, Epics, Initiatives, OKRs). Each request type belongs to a single product area.

Mapping Guide

Exact Migration	Refresh Your Taxonomy
Products → Product-area categories Components → Product Areas Features/Sub-features → Request Types	Take the opportunity to create a fresh and improved taxonomy, rather than directly replicating your existing one.

Step 4: Stage Your Data for Import

Clearly prepare your feedback data:

• Productboard Notes → Cycle Feedback (raw, unstructured feedback)

• Productboard Insights → Cycle Quotes (feedback snippets)

• Cut-off date: Limit unprocessed feedback to the past 6–12 months to maintain relevance and manage AI credit usage effectively. Fully import already processed feedback.

• Retain original timestamps for accurate trend analysis.

Import Order

This order must be followed:

1. Define your Cycle taxonomy clearly within your workspace.

2. Import backlog of request types (features, initiatives, etc.).

3. Import initial companies and people via CSV: This sets your customer properties, enabling immediate Voice-of-Customer dashboards.

4. Set up automated customer sync from your CRM or data warehouse. Cycle provides detailed documentation and guidance; you’ll host and maintain this sync for full control.

5. Import already processed feedback to retain existing feature-linkages and calibrate Cycle’s AI.

6. Import remaining unprocessed feedback and let the AI cluster and organize it.

Step 5: Bring It All Into Cycle

Currently, the Cycle CSV Importer supports only feedback imports. An updated importer supporting customers and requests is underway. In the meantime, you can use the Cycle GraphQL mutation importFromCSV for pushing feedback in bulk to Cycle.

Want to learn more about our GraphQL API? Check out our API documentation.

Step 6: Validate & Calibrate

• Quickly review a sample of imported feedback for accuracy.

• Use Cycle Ask to ensure AI accurately understands and processes your data, making adjustments if necessary.

What You Won’t Find (and Why That’s OK)

Cycle deliberately omits certain Productboard features:

• Public roadmap voting: Users care more about being informed when requested features are shipped, rather than managing upvote lists. See our philosophy in Stop counting upvotes.
• Complex Gantt chart planning: Cycle excels at feedback and discovery, while detailed sprint and timeline planning is better handled in dedicated tools like Linear or Jira. Cycle’s Kanban-style views are streamlined and effective.

Conclusion

Cycle significantly reduces the overhead and workload of manually processing feedback in Productboard, providing a flexible data model capable of evolving alongside your organization. It promotes genuine cross-team collaboration and puts customer centricity at the heart of your product development process. Cycle integrates smoothly with your existing tools and is API-first, enabling easy customization and automation for all your needs.