Ready, Set, Critique!

Ready, Set, Critique! The Value of Critique and Integrating it into your Design Process

Adam Connor - Senior Experience Designer

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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

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Part 1: What is 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

Why do we fear feedback?

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!

What is critique?

Critique is:

  a “type” of feedback…

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

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

  a activity used to collect structured feedback…

  in which participants give their feedback in the form of 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

What is critique?

Ways in which we already collect feedback

  Reviews

  Focus Groups

  Surveys

  Usability Studies

* Image by smannion, from Flickr

Critique does not replace any of the tools

we already have.

The Value of Critique

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


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


  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.

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Part 2: Incorporating Critique Into Your Process

Be Prepared

  Find a good room

  space to move around

  plenty of wall space for posting

designs

  whiteboard, projector/display

  Make sure you have the right materials to

communicate what you’d like critiqued

(sketches, wireframes, prototypes, etc.)

  Make materials available ahead of time.

  Bring lots of post it notes and markers.

Who to Invite

  Identify 3 - 6 people you want to invite

  Consider attendees based on the goal of your session

  Business Analysts

  Product Strategists

  Developers

  Other Designers

  Consider personality, not just roles

  Don’t use the same people every time

Traditional Project Lifecycle

Refinement

Wrap-up of Details

Early on in the Project

Middle of Project

End of Project

Discovery


What You’ve Been Working On

  Reviewing/setting high level user/business goals

  User research, competitive analysis

  Initial concepts, blue-sky vision

Example Goals

  Get feedback about a set of different concepts / approaches

  Explore the designs of competing products

Early on in the Project

Discovery

What You Might Look At

  Competing products

  Conceptual models/sketches/flows



  Designing detailed interactions and product behaviors

  Identifying variations in flows

  Solving for technical and business constraints

Example Goals

  Compare how different components of a system are designed

  Discuss potential usability issues

  Get cross-functional team feedback

Middle of Project

Refinement


  Screen-flow diagrams, wireframes, low-fidelity prototypes



  Finalizing detailed design

  Solidify answers or solutions to issues

  Solving for technical and business constraints

Example Goals

  Analyze design details and the product’s full impact (beta)

  Discuss usability issues

  Get cross-functional team feedback

End of Project

Wrap-up of Details


  Hi-fidelity prototypes

  Beta/Pilot systems

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, customers and maybe even the product owner

Complete at least one critique per iteration

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

  Account for critique session during estimation

  Attach to specific stories as necessary

The Design Studio Approach

  Rapid design activity

  Cross-functional team

  All participants design solutions

individually for a set period of time

  Collectively the group critiques the

individual designs

  Individuals iterate on their design

based on what they learned from the

critiques

  Individuals collect to form larger

groups merging ideas over successive

iterations

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Part 3: How to Critique and Run Critique Sessions

Critique is a Skill

  You will only get better with practice

  Start small

  Internal only

  Think before you speak

  Choose clients you critique with carefully

Ground Rules

  Everyone is equal

  Everyone is a critic

  It will be up to the designer to decide

which feedback to act upon and which

not to

  Design decisions are not to be made

during critiques

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.

The Opening

  Clearly describe the goals of the

product but not how it’s intended to

achieve them

  Present the product quickly

  Be careful when talking about

constraints

Techniques and Tools for Good Critique

  Active Listening / Question for Clarity

  Moderators

  Quotas

  Round-Robin

  Direct Inquiry

  Feedback Frameworks

  Six Thinking Hats

  Expertise Specific Feedback

Things to Avoid

  Poor body language

  Preference based feedback

  Unqualified feedback

  Being overly defensive

  Problem solving

Follow Up

  Document the observations and open

questions that came out of the critique

and post/share them

  Follow up with individuals to for more

feedback or to go explore a proposed

idea

  Communicate next steps: what

activities will occur prior to the next

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 “Laddering” to provoke explanations.

  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)

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.

Thank You

Documentation

  Slides can be found at:

http://www.slideshare.net/adamconnor

Adam Connor Senior Experience Designer

[email protected]

Twitter @adamconnor

More Thoughts on Critique

  Scott Berkun – How to Run a Design Critique

http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/23-how-to-run-a-design-critique/

  Viget Labs – Taming the Elephant: Design Critique with Non-Designers

http://www.viget.com/inspire/design-critiques/

  Digital Web Magazine – The Delicate Art of (Web) Design Critique http://www.digital-web.com/articles/web_design_critique/

  Jared Spool - What Goes Into a Well-Done Critique

http://www.uie.com/articles/critique/