Survey

DataGrip User Experience Survey Results

Introduction

Recently, we conducted our first DataGrip UX Survey to better understand and prioritize the pain points that have the greatest impact on your experience. The data and feedback we gathered have helped us refine our plans to focus on what matters most to you.

In this post, we’ll highlight the key findings from the survey, outline our immediate plans for addressing the most significant issues you identified, and share a few tips to help enhance your experience right away.

Overall DataGrip satisfaction

One of the goals of this research was to understand the current level of satisfaction among DataGrip users. This data enables us to track progress and ensure that the improvements we make have a positive impact on your experience.

To measure user satisfaction, we used the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), which invites respondents to rate their experience on a linear scale. The CSAT is calculated as the percentage of positive responses (‘Very Satisfied’ and ‘Satisfied’) relative to the total number of responses:

CSAT (%) = (Number of positive responses / Total number of responses) * 100

We discovered that 90% of respondents are “Satisfied” or “Very Satisfied” with their overall experience with DataGrip over the last six months. This is a notably high score for our industry, and we would like to express our gratitude for your positive feedback.

Response Option	Percentage
Very satisfied	39%
Satisfied	51%
Neutral	7%
Dissatisfied	2%
Very dissatisfied	1%

Experience with different DataGrip aspects

To gain deeper insights, we asked you to rate your satisfaction with several key aspects of DataGrip. Here’s what we discovered:

Aspect	Very satisfied (%)	Satisfied (%)	Neutral (%)	Dissatisfied (%)	Very dissatisfied (%)	CSAT (%)
Quality and stability	50	43	5	1	1	93
Feature completeness	31	51	13	4	1	82
Performance and responsiveness	38	40	16	3	3	78
User interface	36	46	14	3	1	72
Documentation	25	33	38	3	1	58

Based on the CSAT results, the majority of DataGrip users are satisfied with the quality, stability, and feature completeness. However, there is significant room for improvement in the areas of performance, user interface and documentation.

For those who rated any aspect as “neutral” or lower, we asked a few follow-up questions to help us gain a better understanding of the specific issues encountered.

Let’s dive into each of these areas in the following sections.

Documentation

Documentation received the most mixed feedback. More than one-third of respondents (38%) rated their satisfaction with it as “neutral.” 

The comments section suggests that most respondents gave this rating because they have either never used the DataGrip documentation or were unaware of its existence. We’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that DataGrip’s documentation is available and contains a wealth of valuable information. You can always find it here.

Moreover, we are constantly improving and updating it. Recently, we added new tutorials covering several ways to store your queries and how to import the data that you have in Excel files into your database. Currently, we are working on new materials, including a fresh “Getting Started” tutorial to replace the existing one here. 

User interface

Respondents dissatisfied with the DataGrip user interface highlighted several related issues. Here are the top three concerns:

• Usability: Ease of finding and using features – 50%
• Layout: Arrangement and organization of tools and panels – 29%
• Navigation: Ease of navigating between different features and menus – 26%

DataGrip is a powerful and complex product, covering a wide range of use cases for different user roles. However, this power and versatility come with a learning curve. The complexity of the product can sometimes make it challenging to find the features and workflows you require.

To address these concerns, we will enhance the usability, layout, and navigation of the DataGrip user interface by systematically simplifying the most demanded workflows and scenarios.

In upcoming versions, we aim to improve the discoverability of frequently overlooked features and scenarios, including:

• ​​Configuring the SQL code style to adjust the SQL code formatter according to your preferences.
• Using the Query Execution plan to analyze and optimize query performance.
• Using the Files Tool Window to manage query consoles, scratches, and files.
• Using JetBrains AI Assistant to save time on repetitive tasks.

Furthermore, we’ll help you get the most out of DataGrip with new tutorials in our documentation and videos on our YouTube channel.

Useful tips:

• Explore DataGrip’s features: Visit this section for a quick overview of the most important tools and features that DataGrip has to offer.
• Use ”Find Action”: The Find Action feature (press ⇧⌘A on macOS or Control+Shift+A on Windows/Linux) allows you to quickly locate any setting, tool, or action, even if you’re not sure where it’s located in the menus. This feature is incredibly helpful for navigating the complexity of the DataGrip user interface.
• Watch the “DataGrip Overview” video: Though slightly outdated (and soon to be updated), our YouTube video provides a comprehensive walkthrough of DataGrip’s features and common use cases. It covers everything from basic navigation to more advanced functionality, making it a valuable resource for both new and experienced users who want to deepen their understanding of the tool.

Performance and responsiveness

Respondents who were dissatisfied with DataGrip’s performance and responsiveness primarily highlighted the following issues:

• Introspections: Speed of loading metadata for database objects and source code – 61%
• IDE Responsiveness: Overall speed and responsiveness of the interface – 42%
• Indexing: Speed and efficiency of indexing operations – 39%

Introspection in DataGrip refers to retrieving metadata from a database, including object names, column types, and source code. This process is essential for features like coding assistance, offline work, navigation, and search functionalities. However, performance can slow down when working with large numbers of objects, such as databases, schemas, and tables.

To address this, DataGrip is introducing the level-by-level introspection feature, which is designed to improve introspection speed by progressively loading metadata. This feature allows DataGrip to retrieve only the essential metadata first, such as database and schema names, and then delve deeper into table structures, column types, and source code only when necessary. By avoiding loading everything at once, this approach significantly reduces the performance burden for users working with large or complex databases.

You can find more information about introspection levels, already implemented for Oracle, here.

Currently, we are working on extending this feature to other popular database management systems (DBMS), starting with MySQL and PostgreSQL.

We are also carefully investigating and addressing the IDE responsiveness and Indexing performance issues highlighted by respondents. Your feedback is crucial in helping us resolve these issues, and you can assist us by reporting any performance problems you encounter.

Useful tips:

• Reduce the number of objects: Unselect schemas or databases that don’t need to be introspected. This can be done through the Database Explorer or by editing the data source properties in the Data Sources and Drivers dialog. Reducing the number of selected databases and schemas will minimize the queries performed by DataGrip, leading to better introspection performance.
• Stay updated: Make sure you regularly update DataGrip to the latest version. Updates often include performance improvements, bug fixes, and new features that can enhance your experience.
• Report performance issues: Help us identify and resolve performance bottlenecks by reporting them via the DataGrip issue tracker.

Feature completeness

The vast majority of respondents are satisfied with DataGrip’s feature set. We want to highlight that our team is continuously working to introduce new capabilities and address emerging use cases, ensuring our product stays up to date. 

You can always learn about upcoming changes by visiting the DataGrip Early Access Program page. It’s also a great opportunity to explore new features and provide feedback to our team before their official release.

If you feel that a particular feature or scenario is missing, you can submit a feature request via the DataGrip issue tracker or vote on existing requests to help us prioritize them.

Quality and stability

Survey results show that the quality and stability of DataGrip are the least problematic aspects. However, we recognize that occasional issues can still occur and are committed to addressing them promptly.

If you encounter any bugs or technical issues, please report them via the DataGrip issue tracker. Detailed bug reports, which include steps to reproduce the issue, are especially helpful in diagnosing and resolving problems.

You can further contribute to DataGrip’s quality and stability by participating in our Early Access Program (EAP). By using the EAP versions, you gain early access to new features and improvements, and your feedback allows us to identify and resolve issues before the official release.

Thank you!

We’d like to express our gratitude to all DataGrip users, especially those who participate in our surveys, share their feedback, and report issues. Your input is invaluable in helping us better understand your needs and expectations.

We plan to run this survey regularly to track the impact of our updates and ensure we continue meeting your evolving needs. If you weren’t able to participate in the first DataGrip UX Survey, please feel free to share your feedback with us using our feedback form.