Discussing Design

Chapter 7. Summary: Critique Is at the Core of Great Collaboration

We have covered many concepts discussing how to critique and improve the conversations surrounding design. Some of the content might have resonated with you, whereas other parts might seem interesting but a bit difficult to make use of with your teams. This is OK. Although there are a lot of similarities in how we work with companies, teams, and clients, there is no rubber-stamp solution to improving design conversations that will work for everyone.

Critique is not just for designers. It is not owned by design; it’s for anyone looking to improve whatever it is that they are developing. Though we mention design and designers a lot throughout the book, the thoughts and concepts shared in this book are equally of value to product owners, project managers, developers, and basically anyone who is working with others to create something.

Moving Beyond Feedback

Feedback is an important part of the design process; it is crucial that we move past the general understanding that many of us have of feedback, and build a shared understanding with our teams of what it means to the design process and how it should be used. When we begin doing this with our teams, we will begin to improve our conversations surrounding designs, which in turn leads to better collaboration.

Feedback has three main forms: direction, reaction, and critique. Direction and reaction do not help us better understand the effectiveness of aspects and elements ...