Exploring Airsaas: How our oldest customer utilizes Cycle from Discovery to Delivery
“Cycle is more than just a tool; it's central to our product philosophy, allowing us to manage our roadmap efficiently and respond to user feedback effectively.”
Simon Vacher, co-founder & CPO @AirSaas
TL;DR
Challenges: Airsaas struggled with project prioritization and roadmap clarity. They also lacked appropriate product processes.
Solution: Cycle transformed Airsaas's approach to project management, offering a customizable, scalable and central tool used by the whole company that maximize velocity.
About AirSaas
AirSaas simplifies project governance and decision-making with a collaborative platform for efficient management and reporting.
Simon: co-founder & CPO
Industry: Project management
Headquarter: Toulouse, France
Founded: 2021
Company Size: 11
AirSaas STORY
Airsaas began its story with a team of 3 founders. Initially, they struggled to identify what to prioritize as a small team and how to split this into releases that are valuable to users.
"Our CEO frequently discussed numerous features with prospects, but prioritizing the essentials was a challenge. We needed a robust process to avoid overlooking critical tasks, especially since engineering efforts are costly at that stage."
Simon Vacher, co-founder & CPO @AirSaas
Unsatisfied with project management tools like ProductBoard, Simon sought a more flexible and growth-adaptive solution, leading him to choose Cycle.
A need for customization
"A standout aspect of Cycle is its adaptability and customization.". Unlike other tools constrained by rigid hierarchical processes, Cycle allows for seeing tasks across projects and offers a high degree of customization.
The central item is always the task we want to accomplish and the problem we aim to solve.
From there, we create various boards tailored to specific people or meetings.
"The most impressive part? The tool grew alongside us. From a team of three, we've expanded to eleven. As our product and processes matured, the tool adapted to our evolving needs. It's not just a tool for small or large teams; its versatility is what makes it truly exceptional.”
"We are confident in Cycle’s team and their vision, particularly when seeing how they've grown with us. Mehdi and his team aren't just service providers; they're partners in our evolution."
Simon Vacher, co-founder & CPO @AirSaas
Their 'a-ha' moment came when the entire team, from the CEO to the developers and designers, started using Cycle for various purposes - from sprint views and roadmaps to technical specs and feedback loops.
In-Depth usage of Cycle at AirSaas
Airsaas integrates a variety of feedback sources into Cycle, primarily through Chrome and Slack integrations. They use Cycle for 100% of the product work: from discovery to delivery.
"Cycle became integral to our daily operations. I start and end my day with it, ensuring tasks are prioritized, and the specs are clear for the team."
Simon Vacher, co-founder & CPO @AirSaas
Airsaas is our oldest customer and we asked them to share with us how they use Cycle in detail. They shared with us how each team member utilizes Cycle, the specific views they use, and how Cycle is integrated into their weekly processes.
Usage by each team member
CPO
- Engages with Cycle from morning to night
- Prioritizes tasks, and ensures clarity and cleanliness in the task lists
- Writes technical and design PRDs
- Regularly communicates with the CTO, developers, and designers via inline comments in docs
- Acts as the orchestrator of the team's workflow and project management
CEO
- Consults Cycle’s sprint views and quarterly roadmaps
- Tracks delayed items
- Gathers information to respond to prospects
- NB: this usage is similar to what a Salesperson or Customer Success person would be interested in.
CTO
- Uses the delivery views
- Interacts on PRDs
Developers and UX/UI Designers
- Checks to-do lists
- Review tasks and ask questions
Product Manager (PM):
- Similar to CPO but with less focus on the roadmap
- More involved in PRDs and aligning design with development
Marketing & Content Teams:
They're the only teams not using Cycle
Views used
Strategy
- Prioritized tasks (P1, P2, P3)
- Roadmap view
Sprint level/delivery
- Sprint views split between design & engineer needs
- Bug view
Customer-related views
- Feedback Loops: tracks items shipped but feedback loops not yet closed
- Tracks deadlines announced to clients.
Product processes
- Monday Product meetings: The team reviews PRDs and mockups within Cycle (they embed Figma links)
- Informal meetings: Between PM, Design, or Engineers
- Weekly feedback processing: once a week, Simon processes all feedback - he aims for inbox zero every Friday
- Monthly prioritization meetings: to prioritize quarterly tasks.
"Weekly, we review specs and designs in Cycle, and I aim for an inbox zero by the end of each week, ensuring all feedback is addressed."
Simon Vacher, co-founder & CPO @AirSaas
Impact
Using Cycle, Airsaas has significantly enhanced its delivery efficiency and project clarity, which is vital for a startup where development time is precious.
By better understanding customer needs, they've improved in prioritizing and scoping each feature, leading to a reduction in engineering costs.
"Our clients have noticed our responsiveness and product improvements thanks to Cycle's comprehensive feedback management."
Simon Vacher, co-founder & CPO @AirSaas
Simon jokingly remarks, "If Cycle's server went down tonight, Airsaas would be in trouble. It's that integral to our operation."