Research critique
Goals of research critique sessions
- Improve our research skills and outputs. Both feedback givers and receivers should learn from critique.
- Practice and model professional feedback giving. We have to give feedback to other product team members often. Critique provides a structured opportunity to practice that skill.
Critique session agenda
Critique group agendas vary. One common approach:
Break the hour into two, half hour sessions. Focus each half hour on a different person’s work. It could be a research plan, session materials, analysis or deliverable.
During each half hour:
- The recipient introduces their research plan, session materials, analysis or deliverable. The researcher should provide enough context that other participants can provide useful feedback. Walk through:
- the goals of the product
- the research questions of your current research
- particular goals of your plan, materials, analysis or deliverables
- any limitations recipients should keep in mind
- The recipient poses the question they want to guide a critique. That question could be something like:
- “How can I accomplish my goal better?”
- “How can I get over this particular problem?”
- “What might the risks be of this approach?”
- “Is my team’s concern with this method justified?”
- The givers ask clarifying questions. Before givers start advising, they ask questions to test their assumptions.
- The givers, humbly, offer potential answers to the recipient’s guiding question. Phrase your answers as questions, like “Would it be helpful to…” or “Have you tried?”
- The recipient sums up what they’ve heard. And offers thanks for the feedback.
Ground rules
- Recipients and givers should be humble, respectful and kind. Critique isn’t the time to flaunt your knowledge, push a personal agenda or be crabby. We set our team’s feedback culture during critique. I expect you to be at your most thoughtful.
- For givers:
- Do ask questions. Lots of questions. Try to understand what people have done before, why and how. Try to understand why your suggestion isn’t a good idea.
- Don’t make edicts. You might have a better idea, but you shouldn’t issue orders to other people.
- For recipients:
- Do keep an open mind. Believe others might have a better idea than you do.
- Don’t be defensive. Your goal is to learn from others, not to defend your existing decisions.
- Watch your body language.
- Receiving critique makes most people feel vulnerable. Givers should be encouraging and warm.
- On the flip side, it’s hard to give honest feedback. Recipients should also encourage and thank givers.
- Don’t say who said what in critique group. When sharing feedback to your team from critique group, say “my critique group said.” not “[person] said.” Likewise, don’t expect external credit for what you suggest in a group. Ideas flow freely.