CREATEd Co-Design Toolkit
from the Center for Research Use in Education
PREPARE
IDEATE & NEGOTIATE
PROTOTYPE & REFINE
MOBILIZE
Now that a prototype has been made, it is time for the team to test and refine their work. In Stage 5, the team engages in the collection of feedback from representatives of target audiences to improve and finalize the resource before it is finalized. This involves both group and independent work.
The goal:
Listen to feedback on the prototype and decide what revisions are needed.
The participants:
Team Members:
Researcher, Designer, Facilitator, Practitioner
Optional:
Any additional partners or experts.
The deliverables:
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Plan for collecting feedback (in guide)
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Compiled feedback
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Set of revisions for final resource
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Documentation of process and meeting notes
Tools for this Stage:
Suggested stage plan
Stage 5 has three parts: team meetings to plan for feedback, actually getting the feedback, and further meeting/s to discuss the feedback together. We recommend an hour to plan for feedback and 90 minutes to synthesize and interpret feedback (or longer if the team will not have access to the feedback in advance). Time for gathering feedback can vary based on the resource and methods used, as well as resource constraints on the process. For example, the team may plan for a one-hour focus group, which can be accomplished within the same day as other meetings, or have the resource piloted over a more extended period of time if appropriate (e.g., a curricular resource). This should be decided by the team.
Plan the meetings
As always, schedule a time that works for your team and prepare agendas that establish the purposes for the session, the anticipated outcomes, and the resources the team will use to achieve them.
For the planning meeting, share the Methods and Opportunities for Resource Testing guide in advance so team members are prepared with ideas.
For the feedback-sharing meeting, share the feedback for their review in advance of the meeting, if possible.
SAMPLE:
Meeting Agenda
Planning meeting
0:00-0:10 Introductions and overview of session
0:10-0:20 Team building activities
0:20-0:50 Develop plan for collecting feedback
0:50-1:00 Debrief and next steps
Feedback-sharing meeting
0:00-0:10 Introductions and overview of session
0:10-0:20 Community building activities
0:20-0:40 Organize feedback thematically
0:40-1:00 Reflect on feedback
1:00-1:20 Prioritize and plan revisions
1:20-1:30 Debrief and next steps
*Note that these times are minimum suggested times and many teams, particularly newly convened teams, may benefit from longer discussions of these issues.
Team building
Continue to implement brief activities that support trusting, open, and equitable relationships. As the work continues over time, select activities that fit the needs of the group.
Meeting to plan for feedback
In advance of this meeting, members should ideally take time to familiarize themselves with the Methods and Opportunities for Resource Testing guide. However, the facilitator should be prepared for differing levels of participation. In this meeting, the team should:
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Identify key audiences from which they wish to solicit feedback. This should also include ways to collect feedback from the team themselves.
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Collaboratively develop a questionnaire or survey that help them to understand whether the resource meets team goals for communicating content effectively and being useful and/or usable.
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Plan the methods and timeline for sharing the resource and collecting feedback.
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Use the (Re)Centering tool to ensure that the plans are realistic given the team’s available resources (including time!)
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Determine who will enact the plan, with attention to assigning tasks in equitable ways.
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Make note of decisions in the guide.
As with all resources created through co-design, the team should attend to equity awareness in mobilization strategies, for example, using people-first language, carefully considering colors, icons, and shapes to avoid stereotypes, and recognizing diverse audience needs. Feel free to revisit the Design Review Checklist as a reminder!
PRO TIP
Consider using the Design Review Checklist as a tool for collecting feedback from the team before this meeting or while audience feedback is collected.
PRO TIP
Help the team to make this plan feasible. This is not a formal evaluation of the resource - instead, it is intended to help the team improve the existing prototype. Facilitators can help place the focus on what the team needs to move forward rather than all the possible information they may want.
Collecting feedback
This part of Stage 5 work is largely independent and determined by the planning meeting. The facilitator should be prepared to arrange and support all feedback collection activities, which may include helping to identify/recruit participants, creating spaces for sharing feedback (e.g. whiteboards, Padlets), creating remote meetings and taking notes for focus groups, and so on. The facilitator should also help the team make notes on its process.
The Feedback Facilitation Template provides a structure to help this feedback collection process.
When multiple modes of documentation are used, the facilitator can improve the efficiency of this phase by consolidating feedback into a single document or location for the team’s review, ideally in advance of the next meeting.
PRO TIP
Just as accessibility is a key feature of the design of the resource, be sure to create accessible opportunities for feedback that enable audience members with diverse abilities to participate.
Feedback-sharing meeting
During this second meeting, the team should offer feedback and be prepared to discuss. In this meeting, the team should:
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Organize feedback thematically. Some feedback may be about design or formatting, other feedback may be about content or messaging. Within those there may be other themes that surface, and organizing them will make it easier to figure out what specifically needs to be revised.
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Reflect on the themes. Engage the group in a conversation about what they see as takeaways from the feedback and their reactions. Be sure to direct attention to strengths of the work as well as opportunities for improvement.
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Prioritize revisions. The facilitator should help the team identify the most important revisions and use the team’s (Re)centering Tool to help the team make decisions about what revisions are most needed to achieve their goal given constraints on their work.
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Assign tasks and responsibilities: Make notes on the final decisions about revisions and who will enact what changes. As always, play close attention to the equitable distribution of work and benefit.
PRO TIP
If the team is meeting remotely, consider using tools like online whiteboards or Padlet, or if in person, using post its or other portable documents that enable the team to generate themes from the feedback and then organize priorities. These can form the basis for creating a list of priorities for Phase 6.
Wrapping up
Once again, the last step in this process is to ensure that the work is documented and available for the team as needed. After the meeting, the Facilitator should:
Make a note of all the changes to the prototype that the team considered the highest priority and seek confirmation from the team.
Follow up with the team to confirm next steps.
File everything in the team’s management system.
