Write Clear Feature Requests with Voice Dictation

You have just repeated the same awkward step in an app, and you know how you would explain it to a colleague. Writing a feature request from scratch can still feel like extra work. “Please add more filters” is quick to type, but it leaves the product team guessing about the task you need to finish.

Voice dictation gives you a way to capture that context while it is fresh. Describe what you were trying to do, then edit the text into a request someone can evaluate. On your Mac, keep the relevant screen beside your draft so you can check labels and steps as you write.

1. Start with the task, not the feature name

A useful feature request connects a proposed change to a real situation. Instead of starting with “Add saved views,” try “When I prepare the weekly planning meeting, I need to find unfinished tasks assigned to me across several projects.”

That sentence explains who needs the change, when it matters, and what success looks like. A saved view might help, but the product team can also consider another solution. Describe your own experience rather than claiming that every user has the same problem.

If an existing capability is failing to work as expected, a bug report may be the better format. A feature request usually asks for a new capability or a change to an existing workflow. When you are unsure, say what you tried and ask whether the option already exists.

2. Dictate five short answers

Speak one answer at a time, pausing between them:

• Situation: What are you trying to accomplish, and in which part of the app?
• Friction: Where does the current workflow become difficult?
• Workaround: What do you do instead today?
• Impact: How often does this happen, and what does it interrupt?
• Outcome: What would you like to be able to do differently?

Keep observations separate from estimates. If you have not measured the time involved, describe the repeated steps instead of inventing a number. Mention one main request; unrelated ideas are easier to discuss separately.

3. Turn the spoken draft into a specific request

Here is a fictional example about a task-management app, not a description of TypeFree features.

Spoken draft:

Before the weekly planning meeting I keep setting the same filters. My tasks, not completed, across three projects. I write the filter settings in a note and put them back every time. It would be useful to save that view, just for me. Maybe there is already a way?

Edited request:

Title: Reopen a personal task view without rebuilding its filters

Before each weekly planning meeting, I review my unfinished tasks across three projects. I currently reapply the assignee, status, and project filters, using a separate note to remember the settings.

I would like to reopen the same filtered view without reconstructing it. A named, personal saved view is one possible solution; sharing it with the team is not needed for this request.

The useful outcome would be to reopen the view and see the current matching tasks, not a frozen copy of the old results. Is this possible already, or could it be considered as an improvement?

The revised version preserves the problem, workaround, and desired result without prescribing the interface or promising an implementation deadline.

4. Reuse a compact feature-request template

When [situation], I need to [task]. Currently, I [steps or limitation]. My workaround is [workaround]. This happens [observed frequency] and affects [specific part of the work]. I would like to [desired outcome]. One possible approach is [idea], but another solution would also help. Is there an existing way to do this?

Replace the bracketed prompts before sending. Add a relevant screen name or example if it makes the request easier to understand. Lead with the outcome in the title, then keep the body focused on the context needed to evaluate it.

5. Review the details before submitting

Check feature names, filter values, and words such as “unfinished” or “personal.” A transcription error that changes one of those details can change the request. Remove repetition, confirm that your example reflects what you actually observed, and read the final text once from the recipient's perspective.

For related writing tasks, see drafting clear bug reports and writing acceptance criteria.

TypeFree is a simple way to turn speech into editable text and write faster. Dictate the context for your next feature request, refine the wording, and send a suggestion that is easy to understand.