3. Clarify Session Goals

State at the outset what kind of feedback you are looking for and what areas you aren’t ready to discuss yet. Whether it's brainstorming a design challenge or seeking specific decisions by the meeting's end, make your intentions crystal clear.4. Counter Feedback Pitfalls

While feedback is crucial to improvement, watch out for these common pitfalls:

Visceral Reactions

These often surface in unproductive ways and if taken at face value can be misleading. However, they are often indicators that something is not working. Try and stay curious.  Dig in to figure out what’s fueling the reaction.  If you simply ask, what are you reacting to? The answer typically is, “I don’t know.” Is it the feature’s functionality? Is it the UI design? If so, try drilling into specific elements. Then you can decide if you need to take action.

Unwanted Solutions or Brainstorming

Most of us in software love a problem. We love finding them and solving them.  Sometimes that’s helpful during a review, but often it’s a quick way to send the conversation off the rails. When either unwanted problem finding or solutioning starts to happen, politely stop it in its tracks.  Let participants know you’ve made note of the problem (state the issue) and you’ll address it in the next iteration. Then redirect the conversation back to your intended focus.

Feedback on Wrong Elements

Even when you state up front which elements are not ready for review, if it’s visible, people can’t help themselves. Often all it takes is a gentle reminder and a redirect. “As I mentioned, I’m not ready to discuss fill-in-the-blank.” Then redirect the discussion to the topic you want to focus on with a question. “Does the click flow seem intuitive?”

5. Create an Executive Review Plan

A good plan is your best ally when going into a review with the executive team.

Tailor Presentation to Your Audience

Effective executive reviews can come down to the presentation itself. Figure out the style that works best for your executive audience and customize your presentation accordingly. You may need to get creative with how you provide valuable context. Consider emailing the information ahead of time, potentially have it ready as a hand out and spend the first 5 minutes reading in silence. If walking people through a presentation, be aware of people’s existing level of understanding and be prepared to quickly review or skip ahead of sections if everyone seems to understand. 

Have a Support Plan

Whether you are presenting with your product manager, or you invite your manager or senior team member for support, be clear on everyone’s role ahead of time.

After a productive review employing the 5 C's, remember to follow up with attendees. Express gratitude for their feedback. Reiterate the decisions made and set expectations of next deliverables based on the meeting’s outcome.

Mastering the 5 C's of Design Review is the key to transforming your design review sessions from chaos to collaboration. By controlling your invite list, communicating context effectively, clarifying session goals, countering feedback pitfalls, and creating an executive review plan, you’ll elevate your design reviews. Relationships, ideas and productivity will soar. while frustration dwindles.