Design review

When to use

• When evaluating a new design, flow, or prototype before implementation
• When comparing two or more design options
• Before engineering handoff to validate the proposed UX
• When a PM or designer wants diverse user perspectives on a concept

Instructions

1. Set up the workspace and select actors:

• list_workspaces() → find the workspace
• list_actors(workspace_id) → review available personas
• Pick 3-5 actors representing different user segments (new user, power user, enterprise, accessibility, mobile, etc.)

1. Brief the actors (if needed):

• add_actor_knowledge(actor_id, title, content) → share design context, screenshots, feature descriptions, or prototype links with each actor
• This ensures actors have the right context to give informed feedback

1. Create review conversations:

• create_conversation(workspace_id, actor_id, title: "Design review: <feature>") → one per actor
• Describe the proposed design clearly: what it does, how the user would interact with it, and what the key decision points are
• Ask specific questions: "Would you understand what this button does?", "What would you expect to happen next?", "Is anything confusing or missing?"

1. Collect and read responses:

• get_conversation(conversation_id) → read each actor's feedback

1. Cross-reference with existing data:

• list_feedback(project_id) → check if the design addresses known issues
• list_workflows(workspace_id) → verify that existing workflows cover the new flow

1. Synthesize findings:

• Group feedback into themes
• Note where actors agree (strong signal) vs disagree (segment-specific)
• Identify friction points, confusion, and missing affordances
• Recommend specific design changes with supporting quotes from actors

Example output

Design Review: New Dashboard Layout

Actors consulted:
  - Emma (first-time user)
  - Carlos (enterprise admin)
  - Priya (developer/API user)
  - Sam (screen reader user)

Findings:

  Strong consensus:
  - All actors found the left sidebar navigation intuitive
  - All actors liked the quick-action buttons at the top

  Friction points:
  - Emma: "I don't know what 'Workflows' means. Can it say 'Automations' or have a subtitle?"
  - Sam: "The dashboard cards don't have heading levels. I can't navigate by headings."
  - Carlos: "I need to see team activity, not just my own. Add a team toggle."

  Split opinions:
  - Priya preferred a data-dense layout; Emma preferred the card-based layout
  - Recommendation: offer a "compact view" toggle for power users

  Existing feedback addressed:
  - FB-145 ("can't find settings") — new sidebar placement resolves this
  - FB-162 ("too many clicks to create project") — quick-action button addresses this

Recommendations:
  1. Add descriptive subtitles to sidebar items for new users
  2. Add proper heading structure (h2/h3) to dashboard cards for screen readers
  3. Add team/personal toggle for enterprise users
  4. Consider compact view option for power users

Tips

• Ask actors both open-ended ("What stands out to you?") and specific ("Would you click this button?") questions
• Include at least one accessibility-focused actor in every design review
• Use conversation responses as quotable evidence in design documents and stakeholder presentations
• After the review, clean up with delete_conversation if conversations were one-off