The Design Review Checklist
The questions Joel actually asks in a review, in the order he asks them.
A good review starts with what works, then gets honest, then gets useful. In that order. Here's the running list.
Before the pixels
- What's the one job this screen has to do?
- Who's the exact person using it, and what do they already believe?
- What happens right before and right after this moment?
The pixels
- Is the hierarchy telling the truth about what matters?
- Is anything the spacing is implying actually false?
- What's the empty state saying? Is it saying it to the right person?
Before you ship
- What's the smallest version of this that's still worth shipping?
- What did we learn that we can't unlearn—is this a one-way door?
If a review ends with a sandwich of vague praise, it wasn't a review. It was theater.