Round round baby…Don’t get stuck on the feedback Carousel
Did any of the other Sugababes fans get the song reference from the title? Just me? Definitely showing my age here.
In today’s blog post we’re discussing feedback. Feedback from your clients or stakeholders is crucial in gauging whether the learning your are developing is meeting their needs and expectations. It helps guide the development and design phases, and more often than not you will have multiple review cycles within a project.
But…
Whilst feedback is necessary, it can be easy to slip into review cycle after review cycle if you’re not careful.Think jumping on the feedback carousel and going round and round and round until the client eventually decides it’s time to get off.
But Emma, surely you can’t have enough review cycles? Surely this helps you as the learning designer know what the client wants?
Not entirely. Poorly managed review cycles can not only slow down the project, but also lead to it slipping out of scope putting you out of pocket too!
Let’s explore some of the issues you may find when it comes to review cycles and how you can combat them.
The client keeps coming back with more changes.
This tends to be the most common issue with the review stage. Even if you’ve provided a clear project plan which details the number of review cycles, this doesn’t always stop the client coming back at a later date with, “oh I just noticed,” or “could you quickly just change this for me?” When working within an organisation this may not implicate you financially, but it does drain on your available time. As someone who is self-employed, completing amends outside the project scope means you then begin to start working for free. It also means it can be difficult to properly sign a project off and you end up with a tonne of different versions of the same learning.
Manage expectations from the start.
During the initial scoping stages of a project, I always provide my client with a project plan. This details expected durations for each step in the design and development process, for example '‘storyboarding - 4 days.’ Within this I provide an estimation of how long amends will take and detail the number of review cycles. Often this will look like two review cycles for the storyboard and two review cycles for the build.
I always make this clear to my clients from the start, not only so they are aware of their role in providing feedback, but so they can plan these review cycles into their diaries and notify any colleagues they wish to include in this step. As part of this you will also want to make it clear to the client the implications should they want more review cycles (on time and cost). This puts the ball firmly back in their court and means that down the line should they ask for another review cycle, they are not surprised by any extra costs.
It’s also worth making them aware of the implications of slipping into review cycle after review cycle. This can not only be unproductive and lead to ‘nit picking’, but can mean that there has been a misunderstanding during the scoping stage. Instead of doing another review, it might be best to have a different conversation surrounding their expectations of the learning, to see whether wires may have been crossed somewhere, or if anything has changed. It could be that an extra development step is needed.
Considerations.
You will have to do some relationship management when it comes to dealing with a situation like the above. If this is a new client to you and they ask for one or two small changes (I’m talking a few grammar or image changes) outside of the initial scope of the project, you may honour that without any extra cost, so that you can begin to develop and strengthen the relationship with this client. However, set your boundary and make sure the client is aware that any larger amends will be billed as a separate review cycle. If you’re working internally within an organisation, your project manager will often be the one to manage any extra steps in the project, as often there will be an allocated budget or duration that will need to be considered.
The client keeps increasing the ‘review pool’.
By this I mean adding in more and more people to review the learning and provide feedback. This isn’t always a problem, but when Janet from HR needs to take a look, but she’s on leave for two weeks, this can become an issue. This can be a difficult one to manage, because ultimately the client should be able to include as many stakeholders as they wish, it’s their learning after all. However, you can the run into issues of who do I listen to? For example, I’ve experienced multiple stakeholders providing conflicting feedback on one piece of learning. I’ve then not known which comment to action and had to seek clarification, which slowed down the review process. There is also the problem of ‘two many cooks,’ too many opinions and viewpoints floating around can start to lead the project out of scope too. You may end up with 3 x more feedback than you had anticipated and therefore need extra days to complete the amends.
Be prescriptive and ask the right questions.
As with creating a project plan, during the initial scoping stage make sure you gain as much information from the client as possible. Ask them to consider who they will want to review the learning and to make you aware if there may be individuals on leave, so that you can amend your project plan and review cycle duration, to reflect this. Here it would be good to discuss with them the potential issues that can arise with having too many stakeholders or ‘reviewers’ and ask them to select a small pool of individuals for the task. You will also want to determine the feedback hierarchy with your client or stakeholder, aka who gets the last say. This means if you do come up against conflicting feedback you know who’s word to go with. Alternatively you can request your client collate feedback and review all comments before sending them back to you, so that they have the chance to eliminate any which could cause confusion.
The same goes if you are working as part of an L&D team. Determine who your lead stakeholder is and apply the same methods and questioning as above. Again, you may have a project manager that acts as a conduit between you and the client or stakeholder, so it may mean you need to discuss your requests with them first and they can relay the necessary information, or push back on anything if needs be.
Considerations.
Things rarely go completely to plan and you may find your client bringing in someone at the last minute to review the learning. Make sure you are transparent with your client or stakeholder at all times. If this extra reviewer comes back with lots of feedback then let your client know this may impact the amendment time and potentially add to the project cost. However, when it comes to developing good relationships with your clients, flexibility is necessary. If the window for the client to provide feedback is one week and they come back to you and ask if it can be extended by a few days, think about the impact to yourself, versus building that trusting relationship with them. In the grand scheme of things a few days isn’t that much and as long as there’s regular communication and expectations are managed, there’s unlikely to be an issue.
It is especially important not to moan to the client! Whilst it can be annoying when you think you’re done with amends and suddenly more feedback comes in, moaning to the client is going to look unprofessional. Have a bit of a moan to your partner or colleagues, gather yourself, then communicate back to your client in a way that is diplomatic, enforces your boundaries, but does not damage your relationship with them. Here’s an example below:
”Hello (client name),
Thank you for taking the time to review (insert name of learning). I have received extra feedback from (reviewers name), outside of the allocated timescale. I am happy to action the amends, but I wanted to make you aware this will push back the date in which I can deliver the updated version, from (insert original date) to (insert new delivery date).
Do let me know if this will cause any issues.
Kind regards,
(Your name)
The feedback is unstructured and comes from multiple sources.
I hate to turn the mirror around, but a lot of the time this is the fault of us as learning designers in not defining from the beginning how we want to receive feedback. This could look like receiving multiple emails from different stakeholders who have reviewed the learning, or receiving the feedback in a way that makes it difficult to understand which part of the learning it is referring to. This can cause problems as if you’re spending two hours simply deciphering which comment goes with what slide, you’re quickly going to run over in terms of timescales. It can also be very mentally exhausting and then often leads to extra review cycles, where the feedback hasn’t been actioned correctly in the first place.
Feedback coming from multiple places can often lead to duplicate comments and there’s always the risk that you may miss emails, or lose track of who still needs to provide their feedback.
When sending over your learning for review, detail exactly how you wish to receive feedback.
Out of all the things that can cause issues with review cycles, this is the easiest one to control. When emailing over your learning, be sure to be as clear as possible in how and when you want to receive feedback. If you are an Articulate user, this may look like providing a link to Review and asking the client to leave all comments there. Think about what is going to be easiest for you, this could be creating a feedback document with screenshots of each slide and space for the client to leave comments, or if you’re on final review stages you may just be happy for bullet points in an email. If there will be multiple people reviewing the learning, be sure to communicate to the client how you want to receive their feedback too. It is perfectly acceptable to ask the client to collate all feedback before sending back to you, or request that they read through the comments first to clarify anything with their colleagues, helping to avoid any confusion.
At this point it is also worth explaining what the client / stakeholders should be focusing on when reviewing the learning. If it is an initial or first review, you will likely be looking for in-depth and detailed feedback, so you may need them to focus on reviewing the content. Whereas for build reviews, it is likely the content will be signed off, so you will want them to focus on functionality, grammar, branding etc. I often give my clients a bulleted list of the do’s and don’ts when reviewing, detailing what review stage we are in, how I wish them to review and their deadline for providing feedback. Here’s an example:
”Hello (insert client name)
Please see attached the first draft of the storyboard for (insert learning name), which is now ready for review.
This is the initial review stage, so please focus on the following things:
Content - is the content accurate and does it meet learning outcomes? Is there anything missing?
Grammar - a general grammar and semantics check. Are terms used correctly, do any abbreviations need expanding on?
Interaction - does the planned interaction support the learning?
Timings - are you happy with the length and timings of the learning?
Media and imagery - are you happy with proposed imagery and use of branding?
To provide feedback, please leave your comments on the attached Word document against the corresponding slide. If others within your organisation are reviewing the storyboard, I kindly ask that you collate all feedback onto the one document, before sending it back to me. This helps to avoid duplication of feedback and allows the project to stay on track. Please be as detailed as possible in your comments, as the subsequent review stage will be for minor amends only.
Please have all feedback returned by (insert your deadline). If there are any issues in meeting this deadline, please get in touch as soon as possible.
Kind regards,
(Your name)
Considerations.
Not to be offensive in any way, but you almost have to act like your client has never reviewed a piece of learning or storyboard before (which they may not have!), so don’t be afraid to dumb it down and provide as much detail as possible, even if it seems a little excessive. This leaves little room for confusion and I would always recommend having this in writing, not only for you to refer to, but so the client has a checklist they can work against. When it comes to how you want to receive feedback be selfish! Ask for it in a way that is going to make your life easiest, so it’s always worth drafting yourself up a template or document that meets your needs. Do be aware though, you may work with clients who don’t have access to certain software such as Word or Acrobat, so have a back-up plan. Don’t be afraid to push back either if you receive feedback in a way that hasn’t met your requests, for example, if you receive everything on multiple emails, when you specifically asked for the client to fill in an attached form. The client also has a responsibility and if they haven’t completed the task as asked, then you are well within your right to ask for it in your requested format. Of course, do this in a way that is professional and respectful, but it all comes down to if you don’t ask you don’t get!
Let’s explore the key points from this post:
Manage expectations - if your client needs longer to provide feedback, or wants to add more reviewers into the mix, let them know how this will impact timescales or cost.
Communicate clearly and frequently - things rarely go completely to plan. If there are going to be delays, or you need further clarification on something then ensure to communicate this to your client or stakeholder. On the flip side, ask that they maintain regular communication with you also, should they need more review time, or run into any problems.
Ask questions and gather as much information from the outset - before the project kicks off, be sure to gather as much information from your client as possible. Who is going to be reviewing the learning? Does anyone have any leave booked? Who is the ‘lead stakeholder’? How long do they think they will need at each review stage? This can help you accurately plan your project and pre-empt any stumbling blocks.
Be clear and prescriptive when it comes to your needs - if you don’t ask you don’t get! Detail exactly what is needed from the client and when. Leave no room for guess work and have everything in writing for you both to refer back to.
Set your boundaries but be professional - if you’re finding it hard to move forward from a review cycle, you can put up a boundary and have an open and honest conversation with the client around the problems of too much feedback. Your client is likely to want to keep the project moving as much as you are, so if you feel it’s moving into unproductive territory be honest with them! They also have a responsibility for keeping things on track, so it is not unprofessional to set these boundaries. However, be sure to do it in a professional manner, no moaning or whining! (save that for your pet!)
Lastly give yourself a break! The review stages of a project can be the trickiest to navigate, so don’t beat yourself up if things don’t always go to plan, it all contributes to us learning and growing as professionals.
