Ship a B2B feature that users adopt

Feature Summary

Add @mentions, inline comments, and real-time notifications to enable team collaboration within projects. Target: increase multi-user engagement and reduce churn among team accounts.

Current State

• 2,000 paying teams (avg 4.2 users per team)
• Only 23% of team accounts have 2+ weekly active users
• Top churn reason in exit surveys: "Switched to tool with better collaboration"
• No existing comment or mention functionality

Target Segment: Power Teams

Definition: Teams with 3+ users, 10+ projects, active in last 7 days

Size: ~340 teams (17% of base)

Why them first:

• Already invested in the product
• Have the team structure to benefit from collaboration
• High-value accounts worth retaining
• Will generate feedback for iteration

Feature Scope (MVP)

Must Have (Launch)

• @mention any team member in comments
• Comment threads on tasks and projects
• In-app notification center
• Email digest (daily, configurable)

Should Have (Fast Follow)

• Real-time presence indicators
• @channel mentions for whole team
• Mobile push notifications
• Comment reactions

Won't Build (Explicitly Out)

• Video/voice chat
• Screen sharing
• External guest access

Rollout Strategy

Phase 1: Beta (Week 1-2)

• Invite 50 power teams via personal outreach
• Gather feedback through Slack channel
• Fix critical bugs before wider release
• Success gate: 60% of beta teams use mentions

Phase 2: Power Teams (Week 3-4)

• Enable for all 340 power teams
• Contextual discovery: show tooltip when user views a task with other assignees
• In-app announcement: dismissible banner, not modal
• Track adoption daily

Phase 3: General Availability (Week 5+)

• Enable for all teams
• Add to onboarding flow for new signups
• Email announcement to remaining users
• Support documentation and video walkthrough

Discovery & Onboarding

How Users Find It

1. Contextual prompt (primary): When viewing a task with collaborators, show "Tip: @mention Sarah to loop her in"

2. What's new panel: Changelog entry with 30-second video

3. Empty state: Comment section shows "Start a conversation with your team"

First-Time Experience

1. User clicks comment button → sees input with placeholder "@mention a teammate or type your comment"

2. Typing "@" triggers teammate autocomplete

3. After first mention sent → show success toast: "Sarah will be notified. Comments help teams stay aligned."

4. Recipient sees notification badge → clicking opens comment in context

Success Metrics

Primary: Feature Adoption Rate

• Definition: % of power teams with 2+ users who send at least 1 mention within 30 days of access
• Target: 40% adoption (vs. 15% baseline for previous features)
• Measurement: Product analytics event mention_sent, grouped by team

Secondary Metrics

| Metric | Definition | Target |

|--------|------------|--------|

| Comments per team | Avg comments sent/week per active team | 8+ |

| Notification engagement | % of notifications clicked | 25%+ |

| Multi-user WAU | % of teams with 2+ weekly active users | 35% (up from 23%) |

Guardrail Metrics

• Notification opt-out rate < 10%
• Support tickets mentioning "spam" or "too many notifications" < 5 total

Risks & Mitigations

| Risk | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |

|------|------------|--------|------------|

| Notification fatigue | Medium | High | Default to daily digest, easy mute per project |

| Low discovery | Medium | Medium | Multiple touchpoints, track funnel drop-off |

| Performance issues at scale | Low | High | Load test with 10x expected volume |

| Edge cases in @mention parsing | Medium | Low | Comprehensive test suite, beta feedback |

Timeline

| Week | Milestone |

|------|----------|

| W1 | Beta invites sent, feedback channel open |

| W2 | Beta feedback incorporated, bug fixes |

| W3 | Power teams rollout begins |

| W4 | Adoption check: go/no-go for GA |

| W5 | GA launch, email announcement |

| W8 | 30-day adoption review, fast-follow prioritization |