SQUACK to Improve Feedback

Gathering feedback about your design, demo, document, dashboard...any deliverable...can become chaotic. People at all levels (the belligerent buzzard, the prima donna peacock, the wise old owl) chirp opinions, squawk expectations and screech requirements. Let's hatch a new plan and turn that cacophony into a fine-tuned SQUACK.

Despite hearing chaos and noise during review sessions, designers are expected to interpret and act on feedback. Feedback can weigh heavily on their shoulders. They have to use judgement and discretion to meet user expectations and business needs. It's their responsibility to filter through the noise to find the salient, valuable points to improve the deliverable. SQUACK helps.

UX, Data Science, Engineering, Product, Program, Scrum, and Marketing teams constructively SQUACK every day. You can too. The SQUACK formula makes providing valuable feedback easier for everyone regardless of the role you play or the crowd you hail from.

SQUACK reverses the burden of interpreting feedback. Instead of forcing the maker to guess what the feedback means, the stakeholders must slow down and reflect on what action they are requesting. Slowing down is intentional. SQUACK tasks the feedback givers to explain their intent thoughtfully, strategically. Rather than reacting from their gut, the stakeholders must categorize and follow the formula when sharing their thoughts.

Julie Jensen, the inventor of the SQUACK feedback formula, avoids theories and hypotheticals. Flipping to any page, you'll find a no-nonsense, down-to-earth, common sense guide. A guide paired with real-world examples collected from Julie's broad experience managing UX teams at Microsoft, Amazon, Capital One, and USAA as well as creating digital experiences at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She even shares best practices she honed as a journalism teacher in a prison. This range of perspectives forms the practical hands-on tips that will help you engage with partners, stakeholders, and managers to polish the SQUACK formula for your organization.

Learn this deceptively simple feedback method and apply it immediately. Today. No fledgling required.