Before you even start the review ask 3 questions.
- What kind of feedback would be most helpful for you, the designer, at this point?
- Do we all (anyone who is in the review session) understand the opportunity/problem? Don’t begin critiquing until everyone understands the opportunity or problem that it is addressing.
- At what stage is this review? Idea, Middle, or Final.
Then based on those answers ask the appropriate questions from one of the 3 sections below.
Idea sketch/stage?
- What job does this page do?
- What do you want someone to do after this page? Where do they go?
- What is the user’s goal on this page?
Middle Iteration Stage?
- What is the one thing on the page that generates the most value for the user? . . . for the business? How can you combine them?
- What can you make automatic? What do you know about the user so that they don’t have to think as much?
- Does the page pass the Push/Pull/Pass/Punt test?
Final Polishing Stage
- What can you remove? (Simplicity)
- How can you make “units” look more unified? Are the things that should be close together as close together as they can be? Are likely comparisons right next to each other?
- How can you enhance the one action/link that you most want people to use
See Also
4 Keys to a Successful Web Presence: Push, Pull, Pass, & Punt
My notes from The Laws of Simplicity by Maeda
How to Review Wireframes (one resource I was able to find that also addressed this topic)
Silent Choice of Click – Show everyone the first page of the wireframes. Ask each attendee to decide, silently, where their persona would click. Then discuss the choices and anything else you feel like discussing on that page.
Tags: critique, feedback, functional templates, getting better, quality, review, wireframes