What factors are contributing to the sudden 30% increase in customer support tickets related to Navan's expense reporting tool?

Introduction

A sudden 30% increase in customer support tickets related to Navan's expense reporting tool signals a significant disruption in user experience. This analysis will systematically identify, validate, and address the root cause while considering both immediate and long-term implications for the product and its users.

I'll approach this issue by first clarifying key details, ruling out external factors, and then diving deep into product understanding, metric breakdown, and data-driven hypothesis formation. We'll then conduct a thorough root cause analysis, propose validation methods, and outline a comprehensive resolution plan.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Looking at the timing, I'm thinking there might be a recent product update. Has there been any significant change to the expense reporting tool in the last month?

Why it matters: Recent changes often correlate with support ticket spikes. Expected answer: Yes, a new feature was rolled out. Impact on approach: If true, we'd focus on the new feature's implementation and user education.

• Considering user segments, I'm curious about the distribution of these tickets. Are they coming from a specific user group or spread across all users?

Why it matters: Helps identify if it's a targeted issue or a system-wide problem. Expected answer: Tickets are primarily from new users. Impact on approach: If true, we'd look into onboarding processes and new user experience.

• Thinking about the nature of support tickets, I'm wondering about the most common issues reported. What are the top three complaints in these tickets?

Why it matters: Identifies specific pain points to address. Expected answer: Issues with receipt uploading, expense categorization, and approval workflows. Impact on approach: We'd prioritize investigating these specific features and their recent changes.

• Considering system performance, I'm curious about any backend changes. Have there been any recent updates to the infrastructure or data processing systems?

Why it matters: Backend issues can cause widespread user-facing problems. Expected answer: A new database optimization was implemented recently. Impact on approach: If true, we'd investigate the impact of this optimization on data processing and user experience.