You probably already have a mental image of what happens – as design teams complete a new round of work, they offer up their recommended solutions in a formal presentation to internal teams and stakeholders and then wait to receive feedback.
There’s still value in this tried-and-true method, but what happens when your product development process needs to become more iterative, agile, and responsive? That’s exactly what’s happening in the EdTech space, with an increasingly competitive field and products that are only growing in complexity.
At Openfield, we found that the same old design review process didn’t quite fit the bill anymore. Instead of formal, infrequent design reviews, we needed to develop a design feedback loop that was as agile and iterative as the development process itself had become. And that’s how we landed on a system of daily design reviews.
Our design review process used to be similar to the old-school approach we already described. We’d have a designer (or team of designers) working on a design problem, often at a conceptually high level. They’d chip away at the problem on their own, sometimes for weeks at a time. When they arrived at a solution, they would put together an internal review. The whole thing was very formal, with “finished” work up on a wall or a screen. The purpose of these reviews was to offer critical feedback, of course, but in practice the process was more of a presentation than a collaboration.
The Challenge:
The problem is that these infrequent, formal reviews weren’t as helpful when it came to working through increasingly complex products. That’s because the problems that individual designers are tasked with solving often happen at the “micro” level. Each design team might be working on an individual issue or unique feature set, but these individual solutions almost always have an impact on another area of the product, and vice-versa.
The Solution:
At Openfield, we found that shifting to daily design reviews went a long way toward combating this problem by giving designers a way to break out of their silos and collaborate more flexibly and frequently. This has allowed our designers to quickly and efficiently gather feedback and work through issues as they arise. Not only does this mean that our team members are constantly learning from each other, but it also helps our designers connect the dots between their own work and that of other teams. With this process, fewer communication bubbles arise, and key details stay top of mind rather than falling through the cracks.
If you’re wondering how an extra meeting every day can be feasible for your already-over-burdened product team, we feel you. But our experience shows that a design team that’s armed with smart insights and input will be highly productive the rest of the day. Daily design reviews don’t have to consume a lot of time. In fact, they should be tightly managed to wrap up within 45 minutes.
During this time, individual design reviews can be scheduled as needed in 15-minute increments. Each designer can schedule a review at any time for 15, 30, or 45 minutes, depending on the complexity of the design problem. They also have the agency to invite the team members whose perspectives are most needed, which might include some team members with an intimate understanding of the problem and others who are new to the problem and therefore able to bring a fresh perspective.
It’s really that simple. And we’ve found that it’s a small investment with an outsized return.
Whether or not you work with an agency like Openfield, daily design reviews can benefit your EdTech team in many ways. These daily sessions:
For these reasons, daily design reviews are the new gold standard for Openfield. And they probably should be for you, too.