Design reviews and meetings with stakeholders

Question

Why do UX design reviews with stakeholders often become inefficient for decision-making? I’ve noticed these meetings frequently get sidetracked by technical discussions or debates over technology choices, leaving little time for actual design decisions before the meeting ends.

In many cases, senior leaders dominate the conversation, using the review as an opportunity to brainstorm with peers they rarely sync with outside of these meetings. This often delays decisions on simple UX matters, such as determining the order of columns or choosing icons, which can drag on for weeks.

Is this a common issue in UX reviews, or am I worrying unnecessarily?

Answer 1

This sort of scenario is sometimes called "design by committee" when numerous people endlessly debate minor things and usually ignore the bigger picture. Quite often when decisions are finally made the UX can be totally trashed and the end product is substandard.

In my experience I have walked away from these sort of situations because it's not worth the hassle and losing my own sanity over.

Things you can try:

1. Agree with senior leaders specific timescales for key milestones, this puts the onus on them to keep up
2. Ask for a regular retainer fee to keep you on board, at least you will get something while they are arguing amongst themselves
3. Tell them your frustration at the lack of progress for the project and hint at withdrawing your services if they continue delaying it