Most design reviews fail before they start. The problem isn't the session — it's the absence of shared context going into it.
This SOP structures design reviews as a five-stage process: from requirement alignment through post-session execution. Each stage has a clear purpose, defined participants, and an explicit output. The goal is to make every review decision-focused — not presentation-focused.
Step 1 · Requirement Definition
Align on the right problem before exploring solutions.
Growth, PM, PMM, and Design are involved early — before any solution thinking. PM provides a product brief covering the problem statement, success metrics, constraints, and non-goals. PMM provides a messaging house covering the core value proposition, ICP differentiation, and key objections. Design synthesizes full context and documents it in FigJam as the single source of truth, capturing background, goals, assumptions, ICPs, and key decision points.
Step 2 · Solution Design
Align on direction before committing to details.
The wireframe phase runs at low fidelity — no visual polish, no detailed UI. The focus is structure, hierarchy, and flow. User flows are defined by ICP in FigJam: who the user is, what context they're in, why they take an action, and what happens next. Project-level alignment with the full cross-functional group confirms solution direction and core assumptions — not visual execution quality.
Review solution direction, not visual execution quality.
Step 3 · Review Preparation
Enable efficient, decision-focused reviews.
Design schedules the review with a defined objective, specific decision points, and clear scope in the calendar agenda. One walkthrough format is chosen in advance: async via Loom recording with a translated version for distributed teams, or live in-meeting presentation. Reviewers arrive knowing exactly what they are deciding — not watching.
Step 4 · Review Session
Gather high-signal feedback and reach clear decisions.
The session opens by clarifying the review purpose and constraints. A context recap follows: why we are doing this, who it is for, and how success is measured. The end-to-end user flow is walked through — live or via Loom playback — with comments added during the walkthrough. Feedback is then categorized into three buckets: blocking, improvements, and nice-to-have. Meeting notes capture decisions, open questions, and next steps.
Step 5 · Post-Review Wrap-up
Turn feedback into execution.
A project channel is created and meeting notes are shared immediately. A clear to-do list is defined with owner and deadline for each item. Design refines and syncs updates in the channel, confirming whether a second review is required — and if so, what its specific goal is. The loop closes when execution reflects the decisions made in the room.
A good review ends with decisions, not observations.
