Using Linear for Feedback Management: Where It Works Well (and Where It Falls Short)

Introduction: The Feedback Stretch

Most modern product teams love Linear - and for good reason.
It’s elegant, fast, and helps you move from idea to issue to shipped in record time.

So it’s natural when startups begin using Linear for feedback management too.
After all, Linear already has “Customer” objects, lets you tag requests, and even link them to projects.

It feels like a one-stop shop.

But over time, something starts to feel off.
You’ve got feedback inside issues, issues inside projects, and projects tied to objectives — all in one rigid, opinionated setup.
You’re managing delivery and discovery in the same structure.

And that’s where things start to blur.

What Linear Does Really Well

Let’s give Linear credit - it’s one of the best delivery tools ever built.

• It brings focus and flow to product and engineering teams

• Keeps work moving fast with minimal friction

• Has clear structure for sprints, projects, and issues

• Now even allows connecting Customer requests to your product work

Linear has evolved far beyond a simple issue tracker — and for many teams, it already covers the basics of feedback management quite effectively.

For many teams, this is enough.
If your feedback needs are simple — “collect what customers ask for, attach to a project, and measure impact” — Linear does the job elegantly.

It’s great for basic prioritization, especially when you’re connecting requests to revenue or customer count.

Where Linear’s Feedback Workflow Hits Limits

But as your product — and data — matures, you start asking more complex questions:

• Which feedback themes are rising this quarter?

• How many requests came from Enterprise customers?

• Which insights align most with our company OKRs?

• What are the trends shaping next quarter’s roadmap?

Linear doesn’t make it easy to answer these.

That’s because it’s rigid by design. Its opinionated structure works perfectly for task management and delivery — but discovery needs flexibility, aggregation, and contextual depth.

When you try to manage discovery and delivery in the same tool, you hit three core problems:

1. Limited Flexibility for Discovery
   You can’t explore or segment insights easily — everything conforms to Linear’s issue model.

2. Shallow Prioritization Data
   Customer requests and revenue are great, but they don’t tell the full story. You need goal alignment, insight weighting, and trend analysis.

3. Overloaded Delivery Environment
   Linear ends up filled with semi-qualified requests, unclear priorities, and customer context that doesn’t belong in an engineering workspace.

How Modern Teams Solve This

Modern SaaS teams are now adding a discovery layer above Linear — a space designed for feedback, opportunity mapping, and deeper prioritization.

Here’s how the setup works:

1. Collect Feedback Everywhere
   Capture requests from Slack, Intercom, HubSpot, and customer calls — not just issues.

2. Analyze and Prioritize in Context
   Group feedback by product area, segment, and impact. Weight insights by customer type, revenue potential, or alignment with OKRs.

3. Identify Trends and Themes
   Spot patterns: “10 requests from Enterprise,” or “API improvements trending upward.”

4. Pass Prioritized Work to Linear
   Once validated, send only the prioritized and scoped items to Linear — keeping it focused for delivery.

This way, Lane handles discovery, and Linear handles delivery — each tool doing what it’s best at.

Why You Still Need Linear (and Why It Needs Help)

Linear isn’t broken.
It’s just complete on the execution side, not the discovery side.

Think of it like this:

• Linear = “What’s being built?”

• Lane = “Why are we building it?”

By separating these two layers, your process stays cleaner:

• Feedback is analyzed where it makes sense

• Only validated ideas enter your Linear workspace

• Prioritization reflects both customer signals and strategic goals

Your team ships faster — but with clarity.

How Lane Complements Linear

Lane was built to help teams handle the front half of product management — discovery, feedback, and prioritization — without adding complexity.

With Lane, you can:

• Collect feedback from multiple channels (Slack, Intercom, HubSpot)

• Group by customer, theme, or segment

• Link feedback to company goals or OKRs

• Identify emerging themes and patterns

• Push prioritized items directly into Linear

This gives you a two-layer system that scales:

• Lane: Discovery, insights, prioritization

• Linear: Delivery, execution, tracking

Together, they create a seamless loop between what customers ask for and what you actually ship.

Wrap-Up: A Cleaner, Smarter Stack

Linear helps you ship fast.
Lane helps you ship smart.

If you’re currently using Linear for feedback management and feeling the limits, don’t replace it — complement it.

You’ll get the flexibility of discovery, the structure of delivery, and the clarity to make better product decisions — all without cluttering your existing workflow.