How We Created More Inclusive and Efficient Design Critiques with Round Robin

Round Robin is an inclusive feedback method that allows participants to share their perspectives one by one, making their way around the (virtual) table. This method provides two clear advantages:

1. Everyone contributes. People are no longer overshadowed by one or two dominant voices in the room, but instead given an equal opportunity to speak.
2. More feedback in less time. The rapid-fire feedback cycle allows presenters to gather as much feedback as possible in as little time as possible so that they can keep iterating on their projects. This also allows more people to present in the allotted time.

How it Works

1. Presentation

A designer will first present their work to the group which helps set the stage for the rest of Round Robin. Their goal is to collect as much feedback as quickly as possible in order to continue to iterate on their designs. This means preparation and brevity are key so the emphasis of Round Robin is placed on the feedback.

A successful presentation will outline the following:

Some tips to prepare for Round Robin:

• Utilize asynchronous tools to communicate your work ahead of the meeting. This could be putting links to your Figma in Slack with a brief project overview or perhaps making a Loom video walking everyone through your file. Give enough time for everyone to participate ahead of the meeting so that the time in Design Critique can be better spent on feedback.
• Practice listening and hold back the need to rebuttal. Rather, listen and ask clarifying questions. Remember this is an opportunity for you to collect valuable feedback, so be sure to take notes. You will have an opportunity to share additional thoughts about your project once everyone has a chance to give their feedback.
• The feedback should be helpful in order for you to continue to iterate on your project. If conversations get sidetracked or feedback isn’t what you are looking for (e.g. talking about visual design when you are only in the wireframe stage), then steer the conversation back by gently reminding everyone what to focus on or by tabling a topic.

Using Loom is a great way to explain your work asynchronously

2. Round Robin

After the presenter is finished, participants will share one piece of feedback until everyone takes a turn. This process can repeat until there is no new feedback left. The objective is to include as many perspectives as possible and allow everyone the opportunity to speak.

Best practices for feedback:

• Not everything needs to be feedback, you can also ask questions or make a comment.
• If someone says something that you agree with, you can simply say “+1” to reinforce the message and leave a separate comment.
• If you have gone around more than once and you have nothing new to add, then say “pass,” until no one has anything left to add.
• Minor notes can be left as comments in Figma after Round Robin.

3. Wrap-up

After Round Robin is complete, the presenter can recap or comment on the feedback. This is simply to wrap up any final thoughts before moving on to the next presenter.

Here’s an example of what a Round Robin could look like:

Trying it Out

If you’re thinking to give Round Robin a try, we’d love to hear how it’s worked for you. Feel free to let me know in the comments or email me at marie.shatara@warnermedia.com. We look forward to hearing from you!