Design Critique and Iteration
Critiquing Design Alignment with User Goals
This prompt helps teams conduct a critique session to evaluate how well a design aligns with user needs, goals, and expectations. It focuses on identifying areas where the design supports or hinders users in achieving their objectives, ensuring a user-centered approach.
Responsible:
Product Design
Accountable, Informed or Consulted:
Design, Product, Customer Success
THE PREP
Creating effective prompts involves tailoring them with detailed, relevant information and uploading documents that provide the best context. Prompts act as a framework to guide the response, but specificity and customization ensure the most accurate and helpful results. Use these prep tips to get the most out of this prompt:
Define user goals and objectives for the product or feature.
Prepare design assets or prototypes that showcase key workflows.
Gather prior user research data or feedback to frame the critique discussion.
THE PROMPT
Help conduct a design critique focused on evaluating alignment with user goals for [specific product or feature]. Focus on:
Goal Clarity: Assessing whether the design makes it clear what users can achieve and how to proceed.
Efficiency: Evaluating whether the design minimizes friction and supports users in completing tasks quickly and easily.
Relevance: Determining if the design presents information and functionality that align with user priorities and needs.
Error Recovery: Reviewing how the design supports users in correcting mistakes or navigating back on track when errors occur.
Actionable Feedback: Gathering insights on specific elements that could better support user goals and identifying areas for improvement.
Provide recommendations for structuring the critique session, including tools (e.g., Figma, Miro, Notion) and strategies for documenting actionable feedback. If additional details about the user personas or key workflows are needed, ask clarifying questions to refine the critique.
Bonus Add-On Prompts
Propose methods for evaluating how intuitive the design is for new users to achieve their goals.
Suggest techniques for identifying workflows where the design creates unnecessary friction.
Highlight ways to integrate user feedback directly into actionable critique points.
Use AI responsibly by verifying its outputs, as it may occasionally generate inaccurate or incomplete information. Treat AI as a tool to support your decision-making, ensuring human oversight and professional judgment for critical or sensitive use cases.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE
Focus the critique on specific workflows, such as onboarding or task completion.
Include methods to evaluate designs for advanced users with more complex goals.
Propose techniques for visualizing user goals alongside design critiques, such as journey mapping.
Highlight strategies for balancing user goals with business objectives during the session.
Add ways to validate critique outcomes through subsequent usability testing.
WHEN TO USE
During the design phase to ensure user goals are central to the experience.
To refine designs after identifying mismatches between user needs and workflows.
When incorporating feedback from user testing or surveys into design iterations.
WHEN NOT TO USE
If user goals are not clearly defined or understood.
When focusing on technical feasibility rather than user-centered design.