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Boston UPA - Design Critique

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The Value of Critique and Integrating it into Your Design Process Adam Connor - Senior Experience Designer Alla Zollers - Senior Experience Designer boston upa
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Page 1: Boston UPA - Design Critique

The Value of Critique and Integrating it into

Your Design Process

Adam Connor - Senior Experience Designer Alla Zollers - Senior Experience Designer

boston upa

Page 2: Boston UPA - Design Critique

ICE BREAKING

Let’s talk about…

  Part 1: What is critique

  Part 2: Integrating critique into your process

  Part 3: How to critique and run critique sessions

Please hold your questions until the end of each part

Page 3: Boston UPA - Design Critique

ICE BREAKING

Part 1: What is Critique?

Page 4: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Feedback is Important

Feedback is the mechanism by which we

understand the response, reaction or

impact what we do, or a product we’ve

created, has on a person, an environment,

a system, etc.

So why are so many people afraid of it?

  People take it personally

  No one wants to be wrong

  wrong = failure

  wrong = vulnerable

Page 5: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Why do we fear feedback?

Page 6: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Feedback is Important

“We need to let go of our egos, embrace uncertainty, and encourage

those around us to tell us where we’re wrong”

- Dennis Breen, nForm

Page 7: Boston UPA - Design Critique

What makes good feedback?

Good feedback…

  should identify where, and how a design is meeting it’s goals

  should identify where, and how a design is not meeting it’s goals

  should be delivered in a form in which the person receiving the feedback

understands it and can act upon it to make improvements.

This is critique!

Page 8: Boston UPA - Design Critique

What is Critique?

Critique is:

  a “type” of feedback…

  focused on describing what does and what does not work, as well as why.

  delivered from the of the audience/users and goals of the design.

  a tool for collecting structured feedback…

  in which participants give their feedback in the form of critique.

Page 9: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Critique vs Criticism

Criticism… Critique…

finds fault examines structure

looks for problems looks for what does and doesn’t work

condemns what it doesn’t understand asks for clarification

is abrasive is honest and objective

is negative is positive even about what isn’t working

is general and vague is concrete and specific

Page 10: Boston UPA - Design Critique

What is Critique?

Ways in which we already collect feedback

  Reviews

  Focus Groups

  Surveys

  Usability Studies

  Etc.

* Image by smannion, from Flickr

Critique does not replace any of the tools

we already have.

Page 11: Boston UPA - Design Critique

The ability to critique well is insanely valuable

For Designers

  Encourages Designers to “detach”

themselves from their designs and

examine them objectively

  Provides access to new ideas that

Designers may not have found alone

  Provides practice in listening to and

responding to feedback

  Provides practice in explaining the

thinking and rationale behind design

decisions

Page 12: Boston UPA - Design Critique

The ability to critique well is insanely valuable

For Design and Project Teams

  Helps establish a common framework

for discussing designs and ideas

  Creates opportunities for more team

interaction, building collaboration and

trust

  Allows for a cross-pollination of ideas

for projects

Page 13: Boston UPA - Design Critique

The ability to critique well is insanely valuable

  In general, learning to critique well makes us better communicators.

  Critiquing well is about understanding what makes for good

feedback, how to give it, and how to get it.

Page 14: Boston UPA - Design Critique

ICE BREAKING

Part 2: Incorporating Critique Into Your Process

Page 15: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Plan to Hold a Critique Session

  Identify 3 -6 people you want to invite

  Set one clear goal for the meeting

  Set a time limit (30 min – 1 hour)

  Find an appropriate room and have

materials ready

Page 16: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Room and Materials

  Find a room with plenty of wall space

  Print out handouts

  Utilize sticky notes or note cards • write down the feedback, then affinity sort

• “parking lot” area

Page 17: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Traditional Project Lifecycle

Refinement

Wrap-up of Details

Early on in the Project

Middle of Project

End of Project

Discovery

Page 18: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Traditional Project Lifecycle

  Emphasize higher level user/business goals

  Do not focus on technical constraints, but flag concerns

Example Goals

  Get feedback about a set of different concepts / approaches

  Explore the designs of competing products

  Discuss user flow through the system

Designers Business/ Marketing

Early on in the Project

Discovery

Page 19: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Traditional Project Lifecycle

  Begin to define answers or solutions to issues

  Begin to solve for technical and business constraints

Example Goals

  Compare how different components of a system are designed

  Discuss potential usability issues

  Discuss products that have qualities you want to achieve

  Get cross-functional team feedback

Development Designers Business/ Marketing

Middle of Project

Refinement

Page 20: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Traditional Project Lifecycle

  Solidify answers or solutions to issues

  Solve for technical and business constraints

Example Goals

  Analyze design details

  Discuss potential usability issues

  Get cross-functional team feedback

Development Business/ Marketing

End of Project

Wrap-up of Details

Page 21: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Critique in Agile

Week 1 Week 2

Iteration N

Sketch

Plan For Critique

Recruit for Usability

Hold Critique

Make Updates

Conduct Usability

Create New Stories

Review Stories

Involve your team from the beginning

  Invite developers and customers

Complete at least one critique per iteration

  Depending on the goal, you can have it either in the middle or end of the iteration

  Make sure to account for critique session during estimation

Capture Feedback in a Public Way

  A wiki

  A feedback board

  Attach to specific stories as necessary

Page 22: Boston UPA - Design Critique

ICE BREAKING

Part 3: How to Critique and Run Critique Sessions

Page 23: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Critique is a Skill

  You will only get better with practice

  Start small

  Perhaps internal only

  Think before you speak

  Choose clients you critique with carefully

Always make sure to review these (and any other) ground rules with clients to gauge how comfortable they are with them before planning a critique.

Also, post the ground rules in the room where the critique will be held.

Page 24: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Ground Rules

  Everyone is equal

  It is up to the designer to decide which

feedback to act upon and which not to

  Design decisions are not to be made

during critiques

  Feedback should be provided from the

perspective of the Design’s audience

  A great use for Personas

Page 25: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Techniques and Tools for Good Critique

  Active Listening / Question for Clarity

  Moderators

  Quotas

  Round-Robin

  Direct Inquiry

Page 26: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Things to Avoid

  Poor body language

  Preference based feedback

  Being overly defensive

  Problem solving

Page 27: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Dealing with Difficult Individuals

  Set expectations at the beginning of the sessions

  Make sure everyone understands what critique is

  Ask quiet people for feedback directly.

  Use personas and documented goals to help ensure everyone stays focused

  Request specific feedback from people with regard to their areas of expertise

(development, marketing, etc)

Page 28: Boston UPA - Design Critique

In Summary

  Learning to critique well improves our ability to communicate with our teams,

clients and others.

  The ability to critique well will only improve with practice.

  Critique focuses on what works, what doesn’t and why, and is delivered from the

perspective of a well-defined audience and goals.

  Critique can be done both internally and with clients.

  Critique is best done with 3-6 people in 30 minutes to 1 hour.

  Be sure to clearly communicate the goals of a critique session as well as ground

rules to all participants.

Page 29: Boston UPA - Design Critique

Critique this Presentation Here is your chance to get some practice.

Page 30: Boston UPA - Design Critique

ICE BREAKING Thank You

Adam Connor Senior Experience Designer

[email protected]

Twitter @adamconnor

Alla Zollers Senior Experience Designer

[email protected]

Twitter: @azollers

Documentation

  Slides can be found at: http://www.madpow.net

Page 31: Boston UPA - Design Critique

The Value of Critique

For Designers

Encourages Designers to “detach” themselves

from their designs and examine them

objectively

Provides access to new ideas and perspectives

Provides practice in listening to and responding

to feedback

Provides practice in explaining the rationale

behind design decisions

For Design & Project Teams

Helps establish a common framework for

discussing designs and ideas

Creates opportunities for more team

interaction, building collaboration and trust

Allows for a cross-pollination of ideas for

projects leading to better designs

Learning to critique well makes us all better communicators!

Setup & Ground Rules

3 - 6 People

Keep it short. 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Begin the critique by presenting the design, including

its background, goals, problems and the decisions

made so far.

Set clear goals for the critique, such as speci�c

elements of the design on which feedback is needed.

Feedback should be provided from the perspective of

the Design’s audience.

Feedback should be about what works, what doesn’t

and why.

Design decisions should be explained, but not

“defended.”

Design decisions are not to be made during the

critique.

Everyone in the critique is equal. Organizational

hierarchies do not apply.

It is up to the designer to decide which feedback to act

upon and which not to.

Update individuals as the project progresses.

Techniques & Tools

Active Listening / Question for Clarity

Listening requires effort and focus. Be sure you understand

everything you’ve heard. If you don’t, ask questions to help

clarify things until you do.

Moderators

Use moderators if you need to. Designers should learn to

moderate a critique on their own over time.

Quotas

Consider setting quotas, such as: everyone must point out 2

things that work well and 3 things that don’t.

Round-Robin

Go around the room in the same order throughout the

course of the critique.

Direct Inquiry

Ask individuals for feedback on a speci�c design element.

Things to Avoid

Poor Body Language

Preference based feedback

Being overly defensive

Problem Solving

Integrating Critique into Your Design Process

27 Congress St. Portsmouth, NH 03801 603.436.7177 www.madpow.net [email protected]


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