What is the difference between a feature request and a bug report?

A feature request asks for new functionality or improvements that do not currently exist. A bug report describes something that is broken or not working as designed. Feature requests are typically lower priority and planned for future releases, while bugs often require urgent fixes.

Who typically submits feature requests?

Feature requests can come from many sources: end users, paying customers, support teams who hear customer feedback, product managers, internal teams, or other stakeholders. Large organizations may have formal channels like feature request portals or surveys to collect ideas systematically.

How do teams decide which feature requests to implement?

Teams typically prioritize feature requests based on factors like customer impact, business value, implementation cost, alignment with product strategy, and how many users requested the feature. Prioritization happens during backlog refinement sessions, planning meetings, or product strategy reviews.

Is feature request formal or informal?

Feature request is neutral in formality and used in both formal and informal contexts. You might hear it in casual standups (Can you log that feature request?) or formal product requirements documents. The context determines formality level.

Can feature requests be rejected?

Yes, absolutely. Product teams regularly decide not to implement feature requests if they do not align with product strategy, require too many resources, have low user demand, or conflict with other priorities. Teams typically communicate rejections to stakeholders explaining the reasoning.

feature request meaning in tech — Speak Tech English

Commonness	5/5
Versatility	4/5
Formality	CasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ Written	SpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ Diplomatic	DirectDiplomaticNeutral
Region	US and UK

Say it like this

✓We have a lot of feature requests from customers

✓Can you log that as a feature request?

✓This feature request has high priority

✓I am going to submit a feature request for this

Real examples

in a standup

"We received three feature requests this week asking for better filtering options in the dashboard."

in a planning meeting

"The product manager prioritized the feature request for two-factor authentication based on security concerns."

in an email to support

"I am opening a feature request to track customer demand for API rate limit visibility."

in a retrospective

"We should consider some of the older feature requests when planning the next sprint."

Don't say this

Handle with care. Do not confuse with bug report. A feature request asks for new functionality; a bug report describes something broken. Feature requests are not urgent fixes.

✕We need to fix this feature request immediately.

✓We need to fix this bug immediately.— Feature requests are for new functionality, not urgent fixes. Use bug report for problems.

✕The feature request is broken and does not work.

✓The feature request asks for a new export function.— A feature request proposes something new, it cannot be broken because it does not exist yet.

✕Feature request this improvement to the system.

✓Submit a feature request for this improvement.— Feature request is typically a noun; you submit or log a feature request, not use it as a verb.

Other forms

noun (singular)

feature request

"The team received one important feature request from the enterprise client."

noun (plural)

feature requests

"We prioritize feature requests based on user impact and implementation effort."

noun (in phrases)

feature request backlog

"Our feature request backlog currently contains over 50 items."

noun (as modifier)

feature request tracking

"We use Jira for feature request tracking and prioritization."

Often used with

submit a feature requestTo formally propose a new feature to the development team

log a feature requestTo record a feature request in a tracking system

prioritize feature requestsTo decide which requested features to work on first

feature request backlogThe collection of all pending feature requests waiting to be developed

customer feature requestsFeature requests coming specifically from paying clients or end users

feature request trackingThe system or process of managing feature requests

address a feature requestTo implement or respond to a requested feature

Similar words

enhancement requestSlightly more formal; emphasizes improvement rather than new capability

improvement suggestionMore casual; broader term for any proposed improvement

user storyMore technical; describes desired functionality from user perspective in Agile context

change requestBroader term; can include bug fixes and feature requests

Opposites

bug reportissuedefect

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Practice

Try it

4 quick exercises

Pick the most natural phrasing

1. Your client wants a new payment method added. How do you describe this?

We received a feature request for cryptocurrency payment support.We need to bug fix the payment method.The payment method is broken.We should feature request the payment system.

Complete the sentence

2. We should _______ all the customer feedback and _______ them by business impact.

Spot the mistake

3. Which sentence uses feature request correctly?

The dashboard feature request is not working today.We have a feature request from three customers asking for dark mode.Feature request this bug before the release.This feature request breaks the login system.

Rewrite naturally

4. Rewrite in natural tech English: Users want us to add a way to export reports as PDF files. They asked for this.

Questions

Quick poll

Have you said "feature request" in a standup this week?

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