First rule of Crit Club: talk about the content
A multi-disciplinary content critique, or crit, allows subject experts to comment on a piece of content before it’s shown to a wider audience.
It ensures any content released into the public domain is accurate, true, reflects your organisation’s opinion, is grammatically correct and well presented. Always invite someone to comment from a department that has a direct connection with the content you’ve created. At Scope this means representatives from policy, editorial, content design and user research joining a subject expert in reviewing new digital content. And do not be afraid to invite those indirectly connected to the content. A fresh perspective can open up new challenges or opportunities.
We asked some of those involved in crits at Scope how they approached the process.
What do you bring to the crit?
Alex White, editor — “My job is to act as the guardian of Scope’s house style and tone of voice. I love cutting words out of our content to make it as easy to read as possible.”
Tina Taylor, subject expert — “I bring a personal perspective and feedback on the views and experiences of many other families that I work with and support.”
Minesh Patel, policy advisor — “I provide policy expertise, sharing information about our position on different policy issues and any important political updates that we should reflect as part of our content.”
Shaahin Shariat, user researcher — “I bring the user perspective into our content production as early as possible. That helps reduce the risk of major revisions at later stages.”
David Evans, content designer — “I work closely with the subject expert to design content that satisfies the expectations of those attending the crit but, more importantly, meets the needs of the user.”
How do you prepare for a crit?
Tina — “I read through the draft piece and make any notes and suggestions, particularly highlighting areas that I feel may need expanding or clarification. I have my own research at hand before starting the crit and ensure I am comfortable with what’s expected of me.”
Minesh — “I’ll read the content beforehand to familiarise myself with it. There may be instances where I need to look over briefings or reports or speak to colleagues to familiarise myself with our policy positions.”
What do you look for during the crit?
Tina — “I look out for accuracy of the information in the finished piece. I also keep in mind what I would feel as a parent seeking out this information and reading it on the website. Is it easy to read, are there useful links for further information, and is the content balanced and constructive?”
Shaahin — “My role is to be the voice of our users in the crit. Each user story is built on research and customer insight, and I want to make sure our content reflects customers’ needs and does not digress from the user story.”
Are you ever tempted to stray outside your area of expertise?
Tina — “It’s important to be aware of our own personal perspective and journey, particularly as a parent myself, however, I hope that with knowledge of working with many other families gives me a wider frame of reference. I have greater knowledge on the offerings and SEN (Special Educational Needs) services in my own Local Authority area, and I am open and honest where I feel we need to clarify what is available on a national level. And it is ok to say I don’t know.”
What happens if people in the crit disagree?
Alex — “We always regard the subject expert as ‘the guardian of the truth’, so I would always defer to them on matters of fact. But I regard grammar, punctuation and Plain English as my domain.”
Shaahin — “It’s important to be fair in any discussions and trust people’s expertise. There is no room for egos in our work. The most important thing is to create high-quality content for disabled people and their families.”
David — “I’ll encourage everyone to express an opinion. Compromise usually comes when you ask colleagues to step outside of their discipline and imagine they’re the user.”
Apart from better quality content, what other benefits have come out of our crits?
Tina — “To be able to work together and share our experiences and knowledge can only be a good thing. Linking Scope projects and employees from across the country can bring together colleagues that may never have met before, with different views and perspectives.”
Alex — “It’s great for feeling that we are one Scope, working together for a common aim of everyday equality.”
Shaahin — “In a world that values specialism, tunnel vision is a common side-effect. A multi-disciplinary crit is a great way to bring fresh viewpoints into any complex project.”
