From Sign-Off to Open Critique: A Lasting Feedback Culture

Early on, designers rarely shared work in progress. The goal was to make critique the most useful part of the week.

Organization

PlayStation · Team culture

Timeline

FY24 to FY26

My role

UX Manager

Team

7 to 9 designers

The situation

Designers were spread across programs and time zones, and sharing unfinished work felt risky. As a result, feedback came late and leaned toward sign-off rather than growth.

What I decided

Ask, don't tell. I made questions my default way of giving feedback, so designers built their own judgment instead of waiting on mine.

Structured, not rigid. I turned the weekly design sync into Design Lounge, a biweekly forum with a structured framework that still left room for organic conversation. The goal was to elevate each other's craft, the work, and everyone's professional growth. I gave a designer the chance to lead it as a growth assignment.
Give feedback a structure. I wrote a short decision playbook with a critique checklist (does it solve the problem, would a first-time user understand it, does it match existing patterns, are error states covered) and built a 360 feedback question bank with specific, behavioral prompts.

+34

Feedback

+39

Action-Taking

12 of 24

Focus areas improved more can 15 points

How the team carried it

Presenters rotated, the team helped set the forum's ground rules, and I encouraged people in 1:1s to bring work early. Over time, sharing became the norm.

What changed

In the FY24 team-health survey (Microsoft Viva Glint, an employee engagement platform), the Feedback score rose 34 points and Action-Taking rose 39 points, with gains in 12 of 24 focus areas, reflecting the broader culture work across critique, 1:1s, and retros. Designers grew more comfortable sharing and sharpened their presentation skills. My manager asked to share the 360 question bank with the wider managers group.