Feedback and Iteration
Putting the prototype in front of people, and hearing what they actually said. This lesson covers running a feedback session so people feel free to be critical, and deciding what to change on the strength of it.
After this lesson you can
- Run a session where people feel free to tell you it does not work.
- Get past praise to something you can act on.
- Decide what to change on the strength of what you heard, and what to leave alone.
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The film runs two or three minutes. Everything else on this page is open.
Module Overview
Every new idea is full of flaws, and the job is to find them quickly and cheaply. That means asking to learn rather than asking to be liked. “What do you think?” will not get you there, and desirability is only half of it: you also want to know how the thing would fit into somebody's life, and what they would have to change to use it.
Choose your feedback providers deliberately, then run the conversation in order. Let them talk about themselves first. Say plainly that the idea is early and open to change, and that their reaction is valuable. Introduce your solution one element at a time and take feedback on each. Ask open questions: what do you like most, and why; how would you use this; what would you have to do differently; what would make it better. Thank them for all of it, including the parts you disagree with.
Get it into real hands fast, and go beyond your own network for the people you ask. Treat hard feedback as a gift and resist defending the prototype. If you have to do it remotely, record yourself or the team walking through and using the prototype, which gives the other person something concrete to react to instead of a description.
Where this usually goes wrong
- Presenting the prototype rather than putting it in somebody's hands.
- Treating “I love it” as a result.
- Changing everything anybody mentioned, which averages three opinions into nothing.
Check it landed
3 questions, and one of them has no right answer. You get the reasoning either way.
You show your prototype. They say "this is great, I love it". What have you learned?
What most reliably makes people comfortable being critical?
Three people gave you three different reactions. What do you change?
Sign in to answer these and see the reasoning behind each one.
Put it to work
11 templates go with this lesson. Each one has its own guide on when and how to use it.
