Design Reviews: how to run feedback sessions with designers?
Learnings and tips to run an effective design review.
“I don’t like this screen” “I think you can use another color” “Add more space” “Change the button”
Sound familiar? Many times when we are in a Design Review we forget to be objective with our comments. If you work with a design team or have already participated in a feedback session, you know what I’m talking about :)
Let’s start with the context
Since I started my career as a designer, I have had the opportunity to work with different designers and teams, small teams of only 3 designers (including myself) as large teams of up to 30 designers. All cases had one thing in common: “Feedback is a necessity”.
During feedback sessions between designers, we often fall into the error of spending hours and hours discussing the same topic and not defining what is the next steps.
Sometimes we spend a lot of time discussing the same topic and a little time making decisions
Design Review is a product, not a session
The first thing to do is think Design Review as a product and not a couple of hours session. As any product we need to know what is the problem we are solving, know who are our users and to know “Why”. By answering all these questions we are beginning to understand the needs and possible solutions our Design Review should have.
We are all different and is important to design this product according your needs and your users. A Design Review for a large team is very different than for a small team.
MVP vs MLP
Like any product we need to have a version to launch it to the market. This product needs to have the minimum for our users want to use it.
Don’t get me wrong, having an MVP (minimum viable product) would be the answer, but in this case, we need an MLP (minimum loved product). We live in a world where users are increasingly selective to spend their time on. Having a product that is different and unique is a the answer.
Making a Design Review means that each designer reserves hours of his week to meet with other designers, and this means they leave their tasks to go to a Design Review.
What did you gain by going to an Design Review? Ask yourself if you would be willing to set aside a couple of hours or a half day just to go. We must create a product that our users (designers) love and are willing to give part of their time to go.
Research your user
¿What designers need? conducts co-creation sessions where everyone designs their ideal Design Review. You’ll be amazed at all the lessons you can learn in just a few minutes by talking to each designer. We all have an idea to share.
Improve always your product
Didn’t it go well the first time? Iterate, Iterate and Iterate. Always after each Design Review reserve 10 minutes to ask these 3 questions to the participants:
- What did you like most? — With this you can know, from everything that happened, what they valued and liked most, use this as input.
- What do you think can be improved? — It’s a way of saying “What did I do wrong?” but more polite, use this as input to know the things that you should not do again and that you should change.
- Do you have ideas on how to improve our Design Review? — Here you are inviting designers to give you ideas that many times we don’t see, use this as an input to keep exploring.
A good idea is to use a wall and give each participant post-its to write and then expose each of their answers.
Use a framework to get feedback
During the presentation of an internal project, giving constructive feedback is not easy, many times we make the mistake of giving feedback that does not help the designer much. Use a framework is the answer, check this feedback capture grid:
1. Likes
In this first quadrant we talk about what you like most, each designer talks what did he likes the most.
2. Criticisms
Anything you don’t like? Here are all the things you didn’t like, but explaining why. It’s very important you explain your comment.
3. Questions
Here you put all the questions you have: What happens if the user doesn’t have an account in the bank? Will the money not come out? Will it come out zero? A good opportunity to see new casuisticas of the product.
4. Ideas
Did you see the presentation and have any ideas? This is where you propose all the ideas you have about what you saw.
Define the topics and time blocks
Before starting a Design Review, explain to the participants the topics for the day, who will be speaking, what the dynamics will be and how long each of these blocks will take. It is very important to respect each of them.
First listen, then talk.
It is important to respect time, one of the things that has helped me when moderating a Design Review is to give a time to the speaker, 15min for example and then after I finish giving another 15min to everyone else to give their opinion.
What happens if 15min is not enough for me to give my feedback? Write it down on a post-it and give it to the person to read later or come over later and talk with a good cup of coffee :)
It is important to define a maximum time per person to give an feedback, for example 5 minutes maximum to give your feedback. In this way you are giving other people the opportunity to speak.
Final Thoughts
Design Review is not only a session of a couple of hours, it is a product. Like any product, it has to be created under specific needs. It is important to get constant feedback from our users (designers) and be constantly iterating.
Remember that a Design Review doesn’t work just because people go. A Design Review must be a product that people love to go and that you come out with learning and good feedback.
Are you ready to do a Design Review?
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