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¶ Design Review
¶ What it is
Digital products can be complicated or simple depending on the industry, the product business logic, and the user types involved.
Design review is the critical process of presenting the designs to the business, the technical teams, the stakeholders, and even the end users, if applicable.
It is also one of the forms of validation in the perspective of design, and it usually happens internally within the organisation to communicate and validate that the design is in the right direction and also can close the logic loop.
¶ Why it is useful
Different roles in a project team may have different understandings and focus on the same product. The design review aims to eliminate the difference and align the product vision.
Also, technical teams must review the design regularly to give technical feedback on feasibility, double-check the detailed logic branches, and ensure all user scenarios are reasonably covered.
¶ When to use
Different parties like the tech team, business team, and so on must review the output at every phase of design: Art direction, IA creation, use case diagram, design visual production, etc.
¶ How is it done
The following are the main elements to review.
- Check the alignment with design guidelines.
- The design scope should be in the project scope.
- The business logic should match the user stories.
- There should be all designs for pages and user scenarios.
- Check if the design uses the right sample data, especially without misleading data for the production team.
- Check technical feasibilities (especially before presenting the design to stakeholders).
- Give suggestions if there are better solutions than the reviewed design.
¶ Do's & Don't
Do's
- Change management: During design or design review, whenever a problem is found in the original product design, the person in charge should start the change management process with the Change Control Committee. Accordingly, user stories and related technical structures or designs should be updated.
- Design iteration: Feedback and suggestions are always welcomed, meaning the teams think profoundly and delicately. Therefore, design iterations are also a must-have.
- New rounds of design review: Design reviews are carried out regularly or on request.
- Try to freeze the design after sign-off and before handing it over to the development team.
Don't
- Don’t review the design when it is completed - it will be too late for any feedback and change.
- Don’t take whatever the feedback says but consider and prioritise all aspects.
- Don’t change the design silently without notifying the relevant team members.
¶ Tools needed
¶ Example
