Asking for feedback
Asking for feedback is scary. It's hard for people to show things that are'unfinished work', especially if you already have the gut feeling. People are hesistant to show things that are works in progress.
Asking for feedback is a skill. You need to clearly communicate on what you want feedback on.
- Be specific on what you want feedback on; if you have a whole application of code. Ask feedback on the parts you're unsure about instead of asking for feedback on the 'whole application'. Know what you want to learn and which things you think need improvement.
- Tell people what kind of feedback you expect; so maybe make a list of does or dont's. Make it easy for people who are giving feedback with guidelines. Also asking the right people feedback which feedback you value. Better is 3 solid people then 8 bad feedback session.
- And last think about how you want to process the feedback; do you have time to work on improvements? Do you need to prioritize the feedback? What are musts that need to be fixed or are some of them nice to haves.
Whenever you receive feedback, remember it's usually about the product not you as a person.
I think there is also a third component process. And personally this is a hard one for me. Because how you approached something (the process) is something personal. Whenever you feel the urge to explain something (defend yourself) that's usually a sign feedback is more about the process then on the objective product. Make note of it, ask yourself if you can improve it next time but try to revert the feedback back to the end result of your product.
Another topic is about 'asking feedback too soon'. Sharing work you know is unfinished and get feedback on things you already know needs improvement. 'Sharing design when they are not ready for feedback'.
You want to get to that point where you are happy with it and then share to get feedback. You don't like showing things that you already know there are problems with and you already know how to solve them.
But always remember, putting something out in the world; launching a product, work that needs to be graded etc. without even getting any feedback is maybe even worse. Asking for feedback you'll usually ask for more work. But if that makes your product better in the end, it will be worth it.
— Danny de Vries