Course Reflection: Articulating Design Decisions
I had the incredible opportunity to attend Tom Greever’s 3 classes for Articulating Design Decisions and I thoroughly enjoyed each class. I learned invaluable techniques on how to confidently respond to design feedback as well as how to lead design meetings effectively, all while empathizing the stakeholder and understanding their needs. I am honored to share what I have learned and I hope that the techniques that Tom imparted on us, which I have shared below, enlighten you and provide you with new strategies to articulate design decisions.
For every class, Tom set the context to help us understand what we were going to learn. Here are some of my key highlights for each day...
Day 1: Developing Empathy for Stakeholders
Context: Preparing to meet with a non-designer stakeholder who has feedback on our work.
The Power of Empathy
Empathy is crucial because it helps you present your work in a way that appeals to the person’s values and needs, which makes it more likely that they will support your decisions. Empathy is understanding the stakeholder’s role plus their values and needs. You need to understand what drives them and what their values are.
Set the context
If you are presenting to an executive or product manager you can imagine that they have multiple meetings in a day and that they have a lot on their plate. A simple way to empathize with them is to do a recap of why you called the meeting, provide them with background and context, as well as let them know what you need their help on.
Create shared experience
It is important to remember that the people you work with are human too and that their personality or personal life can affect their perspective. As a result, an open mind is needed so that you can find and create shared experiences with your stakeholder. You can do that by asking them ‘what did you do this weekend?’ or simply ask ‘what’s new?’
Understand their needs
A common bond that you share with the stakeholder is that you strive to solve a particular problem for a user or customer. Discovering what their needs are, and how to meet their needs, will help formulate empathy in order to understand where they are coming from. Create an empathy map of the stakeholder by noting what they say, feel, think, and do.
Day 2: Designing Design Meetings
Context: Preparing to meet with a non-designer stakeholder whose support we need to move forward.
Define a clear goal
Knowing what the goal of the meeting is, as well as the goal of the project, helps yourself and others understand what the measures of success look like. Additionally, it is beneficial to have a clear understanding of where you need feedback and what you need from your stakeholder.
Be confident in articulating your thought process
There will undoubtedly be questions from your stakeholder which is why planning in advance and anticipating those questions is crucial. Keep in mind your answers to the following:
What problem does this design solve?
How does this solution affect the user?
Why is this option better than the alternative?
Crafting the IDEAL response
When articulating your thought process as well as expressing why you made certain decisions, keep in mind the strategy for having an IDEAL response. In doing so you need to:
I - Identify the problem
D - Describe your solution
E - Empathize with the user
A - Appeal to the business
L - Lock in agreement
Day 3: Responding to Design Feedback
Context: Meeting with a non-designer stakeholder who has given feedback on our work.
The power of yes — lead with it
People want to feel heard and that is why leading with a ‘yes’ — when you are given feedback — really solidifies that. For example, you can say ‘yes, that’s a very good point’ or ‘yes, there are definitely some ways we can improve this.’ Highlight the areas that you do agree and in the areas that you perhaps may not agree, see where you can find a common ground.
Follow-up with a question
In response to their feedback, ask a question to understand more about where the stakeholder is coming from. Get to the root of why they said their feedback.
Thank, Repeat, Prepare
As discussed above, lead with a yes — thank them for their feedback — then repeat back your understanding of their feedback reaffirming that you were listening to them. A phrase that you can use is “What I hear you saying is….”
Keep in mind the IDEAL response to feedback
Follow the steps to create an ideal response and that will provide you with the tool for a comprehensive and well thought out process and answer.
The lessons above can be applied to all aspects of our lives - they are universal concepts and strategies to help articulate your decisions and lead effectively. I highly recommend attending Tom’s classes and reading his book Articulating Design Decisions. To learn more about Tom’s inspiring work visit Tom's website.
I would like to extend a hearty thank you to Tom and IxDA New York City. I am very grateful to Tom for hosting and investing his time to teach the community. The sessions were very engaging, highly interactive, and it was wonderful to meet other people in the classes as well. Thank you IxDA New York City for the opportunity to attend the sessions, I sincerely appreciate your generosity. I will continue to pass on and share what I learn.