Tips for Implementing anEfficient Product Design Review:

The 'walkthrough' of the product design should be approached with all project stakeholders using the following foci:

• Define the review's objectives and scope. What are the action items and goals? All stakeholders involved should receive a copy of the PDS and have time to review it (they should have already taken part in its generation). What will the design review session cover? Ideally, for a review, you are trying to get all the stakeholders in the room who can answer questions right there and then, so you are able to resolve all issues and not hold up the project. During the review, you may uncover issues that it would be best to discuss at some future review session. However, you should assign some action items to pertinent stakeholders who can follow up on the items - and follow up quickly! You should encourage and follow up on these action items.


• Invite the right participants. It's important to have the right stakeholders in the room - stakeholders who represent different perspectives and strengths and are appropriately knowledgeable. But, the fewer the participants the easier it is to achieve the goals.


• Create an appropriate environment. Discipline to stick to the review is critical.


• Practice ahead of time to see how long it most likely will take to cover all the issues and allow time for debate and resolution.


• Ensure the stakeholders know what is expected of them in the review and after. It's best if the reviewers are responsible for the subsequent development efforts. This ensures their review will be valuable.


• Define the session's ground rules. Setting ground rules places everyone on an equal footing before the review starts. This is where facilitation becomes important, so you can focus the group on the elements that will move the session forward. Examples of good ground rules include the following:
  • Listen to others' opinions and document all results.
  • Share your ideas as well, but don't monopolize the review.
  • Consider all ideas as equally valuable.
  • Redesign ONLY if the issues demand it.
  
  
• Utilize any documented user research, usability test results, best practices, analyses of competitors' designs, and usability discoveries to guide the review.


• Define the next steps. Any revisit will take time, funding and resources; so establishing the best foundation for the design during the review is absolutely critical.


• Because you may not be able to accommodate all of the stakeholders' needs, it's important to document all conflicting issues during the review and establish follow-on goals and solutions to be reached as expediently as feasible.


• Ensure that designs meet appropriate standards for consistency, accessibility, usability, international expectations, "rebrandability", installation/activation time, ease of training, etc.


• Ensure that designs can be well integrated into the brands (if any) on which they will be deployed


• Ensure that the design direction maps to the expected business goals and user needs


• Ensure the design is aligned with the broader initiatives and possible integration with other product designs.


• Review specific interaction behaviors and provide guidance to designers on problematic issues