Allowing your clients to be involved in the change validation of major IT changes can make your MSP appear more trustworthy and ensures that the solution you provide actually meet real-world needs.
However, if you want to involve your clients in the validation process, you must take thoughtful and deliberate actions. You must have a disciplined validation strategy that strikes a balance between empowering your clients and not impeding your ability to meet deadlines and deliverables.
Best practices for creating a productive client feedback loop
To create a productive client feedback loop, you must focus on high-impact changes and run a pilot phase before bringing things to the client. Once you start the client validation process, provide the client with a one-page brief, offer them a sandbox where they can test the changes, and set a deadline for the feedback. And make sure to keep everything open and transparent to appear more trustworthy.
📌 Prerequisites:
- You must have a defined change taxonomy (e.g., policies, patches, configuration updates).
- You need to have your client contacts ready for feedback and validation.
- You should have collaboration tools (email, PSA, Slack/Teams) to exchange feedback.
💡 Note: This is optional, but in sensitive updates or changes that can significantly affect workflows, you can also use sandbox environments or pilot groups for safe testing.
Focus validation on high-impact changes
When involving clients in change validation, ensure it’s for something important and impactful, not just routine updates. The changes you’re making should be meaningful and impactful to your overall operations.
Major changes can include policy shifts, MFA enforcement, and key app configurations that require validation. Focusing on these changes will ensure your client’s time is used on important matters.
Use a scoped “client pilot phase”
Before asking for MSP client feedback, you must do your due diligence. Identify a small, controlled set of users for testing. Then, clearly define your expected outcomes in your report.
Submit the report to the client and discuss the changes you want to make. This will give them reliable feedback with minimal disruptions to their operations.
Provide concise validation briefs
You should be able to summarize the changes you need quickly and concisely. This way, your clients can understand the situation and what’s expected of them without issue. Give them a one-page summary containing the following information:
- Purpose and scope of validation
- Clear action to perform (maximum 5 minutes)
- Feedback deadline and method (button, reply, ticket comment)
Clarity and brevity are key. They will help ensure compliance and minimize friction during the change validation process.
Use time-boxed feedback windows
Set explicit feedback deadlines. For example, you can tell your client that you will be taking feedback for the next 24 hours. This gives everyone clear expectations and boundaries they can follow.
Be proactive about seeking feedback. If you haven’t received any yet, remind your client of the deadline. To further enforce this, you can send automatic reminders at specified times to show that you do your due diligence.
If no material blockers are raised after the deadline, you can proceed with the rollout.
Offer sandbox or simulated testing options
Changes don’t just happen on paper. If they will significantly affect your workflow or the tools you use, you should provide safe, non-production environments for validation. This is especially necessary if you’re pushing for a sensitive update.
This will provide clients with a space to test the changes without affecting production. It will make it easier for the client to picture how their workflows will be affected and provide the necessary feedback while also allowing you to maintain rollout control on your end.
Automate feedback prompts and collection
You can leverage automation for consistency. For example, you can use this PowerShell script to automatically send a message asking for feedback and validation:
Send-MailMessage -To $ClientContact -Subject “Validation Needed: New Policy Rollout” -Body “Please confirm login behavior on test devices by 5 PM tomorrow.”
Track the responses you get using your PSA or ticketing system. Avoid manual follow-ups as they can cause confusion and disrupt your automated workflow.
Close the loop transparently
Be transparent about each step of the process. Always send a short acknowledgement after feedback has been received (e.g., “Thanks for the confirmation. Rolling out now”). And remember to log validation results for future reference.
Only proceed with the rollout after the changes have been properly validated and documented. This will show clients that their input has directly influenced the rollout timing and that their feedback has been considered.
Best practices summary for creating an effective client feedback loop
| Component | Purpose and Value |
| High-impact focus | This will prevent you from overburdening your clients. They should only be involved when the update is meaningful and impactful to your overall operations. |
| Scoped pilot phase | This will gather real-world validation safely. It will also allow you to justify the changes to your client with concrete data. |
| Concise briefs | This will simplify client involvement. The changes should be described quickly and efficiently to save time and minimize confusion. |
| Time-boxed feedback | This will maintain momentum and clarity. Keeping a defined timeframe sets expectations and makes it easier to predict when the rollout will happen. |
| Sandbox environments | This will allow clients to validate the changes safely and without affecting ongoing workflows. It’s especially important for sensitive updates that will significantly affect your workflows. |
| Automated prompts | This will reduce friction and delays. It eliminates the chance of human error and ensures that clients are actively reminded of what they have to validate. |
| Acknowledgement and logging | This enhances transparency and trust. Clients can easily view the changes being made and see that their feedback is being acknowledged and accounted for. |
NinjaOne integration for involving clients in change validation
- Tag pilot group devices for targeted rollouts.
- Use Domino-style automation to send summaries and collect feedback.
- Store validation responses in PSA or your ticketing system for visibility.
- Deploy to production once validation criteria are confirmed.
Empower clients by involving them in the change validation process
Incorporating client validation should be part of your normal workflow and shouldn’t impede your ability to meet your deadlines and targets. To truly optimize the process, focus on high-impact changes, use small test groups, provide clear briefs, set feedback deadlines, and automate communication. This way, you can maintain velocity while building trust and alignment.
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