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Have you ever wondered why some companies create amazing products while others struggle to meet customer needs? The secret lies in a simple practice called dogfooding. It’s an approach in which companies use their products before releasing them to the public. When you think about it, this makes perfect sense. If you wouldn't use the product yourself, why would you expect others to love it? Today, we will uncover how this simple concept can transform your approach to building software products.
Dogfooding means the practice of using your products or services within your company before launching them to the public. It's about putting yourself in your customer's shoes and experiencing what they'll experience. When your team members actually use what you're building, they become both creators and users.
This practice goes beyond just testing for bugs. It's about understanding the user experience. Your developers, managers, and other employees become real users who can provide valuable insights about how the product works in real-world scenarios.
You might wonder why on earth it's called dog food in the first place. The phrase actually comes from old television advertisements for Alpo dog food in the US. In these commercials, actor Lorne Greene endorsed the product by claiming he fed Alpo to his own dogs. The idea was that if he was claiming he fed Alpo to his pets, it must be safe and high-quality.
Over time, this idea got picked up in tech. In 1988, a Microsoft manager named Paul Maritz sent an email encouraging his team to "eat our own dogfood" when testing new operating systems. He wanted them to use the product themselves to spot problems before end-users did. That email helped spread the term through tech giants and eventually the entire industry.
Many tech giants have made dogfooding a core part of their development process. They include:
Microsoft famously adopted it for internal beta use of Windows and Office. Employees would be asked to use the product internally before it is shipped to real users.
Slack famously used its communication platform while building it. The entire company relied on their messaging tool for daily communication. This internal usage of the company's product helped them understand what features were missing and what worked well in everyday life.
Google runs internal beta testing for many of its services. Here, employees act as early dogfooders and try out beta test features before the public sees them.
Apple employees use iPhones, MacBooks, and other Apple products as their primary devices. This in-house testing helps them understand how products perform in real-world situations. They can identify problems that might not show up in formal qa testing but become apparent during regular use.
The benefits of dogfooding are numerous and can transform how your company develops products. They include:
When your team members are using buggy software, they’ll notice things a regular user might miss until launch. You also get valuable insights into usability issues and workflow problems that could impact your customers. In fact, a study by IBM affirmed that errors found post-release cost 4 times more than those identified during design
Dogfooding helps ensure proper qa testing, because it’s not just the QA team looking at checklists. Instead, the whole company acts as a test group. This helps you spot problems in real-world scenarios that formal tests might miss.
Dogfooding also improves your product internally by providing continuous feedback. Your team experiences the same frustrations and joys as your customers do. This creates insight into what needs fixing and what's working well. You get honest feedback from people who understand both the technical and user sides of your product.
Another major benefit is increased trust in the product. When employees use what they're building, they become more invested in its success. They care more about quality because they're affected by problems too. This leads to better product improvement over time.
Dogfooding improves customer experience by building empathy. According to a report by Amplitude, 68% of high-performing product teams said internal testing and usage were critical for improving performance and user experience. Invariably, when you use what you sell, you’re forced to see it the way end users do.
Aside from the numerous benefits listed above, companies should go for dogfooding because of the following:
One of the biggest advantages of dogfooding is that it generates invaluable data and analytics. When your entire team uses the product internally, you see how people interact with it every day, what features they use most, what workflow patterns emerge, and where they get stuck. This internal usage automatically generates metrics on performance, usability issues, and even adoption of new features.
By using the usage of the company’s product in-house, you get an authentic look at how people interact with it. This means you can iterate faster, improve performance and user experience, and even test new feature ideas safely before rolling them out publicly.
Dogfooding can also boost productivity within your organization. Instead of guessing what will work, your team knows from their own experience. And with analytics and feedback loops, you can see what needs to change.
If you want dogfooding to work, it has to be part of your culture, not just an afterthought. Here’s how you can make it happen:
Teach new hires the importance of dogfooding from day one. They should understand that internal usage of the company’s products is part of their job.
Make sure team members across departments are involved. Don’t just limit it to engineers or QA. You can get people from the marketing, support, and sales departments to test the product feature, too.
You need to create easy ways for employees to provide feedback. Set up systems where team members can quickly report issues, suggest improvements, or share positive experiences. This feedback should be treated seriously and acted upon when possible
It's advisable to use a metric to measure dogfooding participation. Make sure the product is used regularly and improvements are logged.
Executives and managers should be dogfooders too. When leadership commits to using the product, it sets the tone for everyone else
Of course, dogfooding might sound perfect, but there are pitfalls to watch out for:
One common mistake is treating dogfooding as a replacement for proper qa testing. While using your product is valuable, it shouldn't replace formal testing procedures. You still need structured beta test programs and professional quality assurance processes.
Another mistake is only having developers or technical staff participate in dogfooding. Your product needs to work for all types of users, not just technical experts. Include people from different departments and skill levels to get a complete picture of the user experience.
Don't ignore negative feedback from dogfooders. Sometimes internal users will point out problems that you might not want to hear. It's tempting to dismiss these concerns, but they often represent real issues that customers will face. On the flip side, using a tool like ProductLogz can help you organize, prioritize, and follow up on internal beta testing feedback so nothing slips through the cracks.
Employees aren’t always the same as customers. Your workflow might not match what real users do. Remember to balance dogfooding with beta test programs for actual customers.
Avoid making dogfooding feel like a burden or punishment. If employees see it as extra work on top of their regular duties, they won't engage meaningfully. Instead, show how it helps them do their jobs better and contributes to the company's success.
Dogfooding might seem like extra work, but it's the fastest path to product excellence. But to make it work, you need the right culture, internal beta programs, and an open mind. So, stop guessing what customers want. Start being the customer. Stake your own productivity and success on what you create. That's when you'll build something truly worth having.
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