Design Critiques | A culture of communication and collaboration

Design Critiques are a systematic way to discuss, evaluate, and strengthen design concepts in a group setting. Participants in these sessions include the presenting UX Designer, their peers (fellow UX Designers and UX Researchers), UX leadership, and stakeholders. These critiques are regular, reoccurring events that are built right into our process of design and help promote a culture of communication and collaboration.

At our company, these meetings typically include a time of sharing and a time of discussion. 

Share

During the sharing portion, the UX Designer (or UI Designer) walks through the process which led them to a specific design solution; highlighting the target audience and research that had been done, user need statements, ideation techniques utilized, and the design decisions that were made to meet the user’s needs.  Here is our list of questions that our UX Designers address during their presentation: 

• Who is the target audience for this design?
• What was the user need statement(s) being solutioned for?
• What ideation techniques were used to address the user needs statement?
• Share your completed design concept and how it meets the needs of the user.
• Perform a cognitive walkthrough.
• Are there any upcoming phases/enhancements for this design?

Discuss

Then, we transition to a time of discussion where the group can ask questions and provide feedback.  Some of the questions that typically come up are: 

• What were some challenges you faced in creating this design and how did you overcome these challenges?
• Were multiple solutions considered before ending up on a final solution?
• Did you learn anything from testing this design with the target audience? Were any changes made based on user feedback?
• Was this design completed using only assets available in your XD Asset Library?
• Were there any shortcomings in your available XD Asset Library that hindered this design effort?
• Did you design for mobile or desktop users first? Why?

Keeping things positive

The vibe in these meetings is always positive and encouraging as we all understand we have the same goals, are on the same team, and each of us has room to grow and develop.  This does not come naturally, so it’s crucial that the UX leadership drives this positive culture and serves as an example to all who attend.