If you're just getting set up in Productboard, you'll want to load in existing research and user feedback. If you're just looking to perform a one-time import from a CSV or spreadsheet, use the Import notes feature on the Insights board.
But if you're looking to automatically import new notes whenever a new row gets added to a spreadsheet (e.g. representing an incoming survey result), you can use Zapier in combination with Google Sheets! We'll detail this workflow below.
In this article:
Format your data
Zapier is a helpful tool for creating simple recipes ("zaps") for sending data from one system to another. Start by formatting your data so it will be easy to map to the fields in Productboard.
First, organize your research/feedback data with the following column headers. (Your headers don't need to be copied verbatim from those below, but if they're similar it will help.)
Required headers:
- Note owner – the person on your team who logged the feedback or the product manager responsible for the area of the product the note relates to.
- Note status – the default status of imported notes (Possible data values for this column include "unprocessed", "processed", and archived. We recommend loading in notes as "unprocessed" so you have a chance to identify and categorize interesting insights on the Insights board.)
Optional (but recommended) headers:
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Title – this will become the name of the Productboard note
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Content – this is the text that represents the body of the note (research, user feedback, other product inputs)
- Said by (User Name) - The name of the customer or stakeholder the note/feedback is from.
- Said by (User Email) - The email address of the customer or stakeholder the note/feedback is from.
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Note tags – tags for retrieving certain notes later (tag ideas)
Sample CSV with headers and several rows of example data:
Getting started
Now let's get set up in Zapier.
- Sign in to Zapier. If you don't already have an account, set one up at Zapier.com.
- Ensure data is properly formatted (see above). If your data isn't already in Google Sheets, import it into a new sheet now.
- Set up your zap: Using this zap template, configure your new zap.
Configuring your Zap
Zapier will ask you to authorize access to your Google account and identify which spreadsheet/worksheet you'd like to pull data from.
After connecting your Productboard account, you'll be prompted to begin mapping Productboard's data fields to the data columns in your sheet. If you've already formatted your data according to the directions above, this part will be easy.
Make sure to select Show advanced options to display all available fields!
If there are any fields you would not like to map dynamically, but would instead prefer that the value remain constant for all new notes created, you can enter that constant value in place of selecting a spreadsheet column (or for a non-required field, leave it blank).
Want to route different notes to different owners based on an existing data field?
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Under Note Owner select Use a Custom Value (advanced).
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Then under Custom Value For Note Owner ID select the column in your spreadsheet that contains the Productboard member IDs for your note owners. (The ID appears beside each name in the Note Owner dropdown just above.)
Next steps
Sit back and watch your new notes stream onto your Insights!
Note that there will be a 15 minute delay between the time data is updated in your spreadsheet and when it appears in Productboard. (Hint: it's not our fault.) Go treat yourself to some water cooler banter. ☕️
Want to customize the zaps linked above? Create a zap of your own!