Evaluate a Design Idea

Collecting feedback on a design helps you understand whether you are creating a solution that customers want to use. It also helps your team make great decisions about your product because your team is likely too close to the design—too knowledgeable about it—to have the same perspective as your customers. Getting feedback early in your project can save you time, preventing the team from working on the wrong features or having to rework a product that doesn’t meet the needs of your customers.

No matter where you are in the life cycle of your site, app, software, or other type of product, you can evaluate it. You can evaluate…

• The current version to understand what areas need improvement and what areas are working well and that you can learn from.
• Early concept ideas to make sure the project has started off in the right direction.
• The concepts during the design process as they become more and more “real.” Doing so ensures that all your team’s decisions are continuing to drive the design in the right direction for your customers.
• Evaluate the design/product before and after the release to measure your team’s success.

Here are types of evaluations that can help you collect feedback on your designs:

• Benchmark evaluations help you measure the current state of your design, and give you a basis for comparison.
• Usability tests can be run with concepts, wireframes, working prototypes, or live designs.
• Collect feedback on wording and messaging to ensure you are connecting with your audience.
• Collect feedback on the organization of content, especially in situations where you have a large volume of content (such as e-commerce or intranet pages, or “My Account” pages).

Get feedback from the same person over time (“diary studies”)

Please provide any feedback you have on this article. Your feedback will be used to improve the article and should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Article evaluations will remain completely confidential unless you request a follow-up.