You've just stated exactly why you shouldn't trust telemetry. You improve the parts that are good enough already and not the parts that are so bad users avoid them.
I didn't want to write an essay, so let me give you an example instead.
We've had a customers insisting that a particular feature was very important for them, however telemetry showed that they used that particular feature last time more than 26 months ago, and they discarded the resulting document anyway. Drilling down revealed that everyone thought that everybody else was using it sometimes, while the one user that had a need for it actually had a different and far more efficient workflow.
My point is that my department have telemetry, the support team and PO have user feedback. If those two versions of the truth does not match up, we discuss it, often involving some users. Neither is perfect, and if you have to choose, obviously listening to the users seems preferable. Just remember that if Henry Ford build what people asked for, he would have made faster horses (quote is probably not even from him, but it gets the point across).
To improve and make innovation you need many things, but especially empirical (telemetry), observational (watch the users), and anecdotal (listen to the users) evidence. Only with that you can make an informed decision.
We've had a customers insisting that a particular feature was very important for them, however telemetry showed that they used that particular feature last time more than 26 months ago, and they discarded the resulting document anyway. Drilling down revealed that everyone thought that everybody else was using it sometimes, while the one user that had a need for it actually had a different and far more efficient workflow.
My point is that my department have telemetry, the support team and PO have user feedback. If those two versions of the truth does not match up, we discuss it, often involving some users. Neither is perfect, and if you have to choose, obviously listening to the users seems preferable. Just remember that if Henry Ford build what people asked for, he would have made faster horses (quote is probably not even from him, but it gets the point across).
To improve and make innovation you need many things, but especially empirical (telemetry), observational (watch the users), and anecdotal (listen to the users) evidence. Only with that you can make an informed decision.