How to run a design critique - UIWEB.COM
This article has a really great set of guidelines for running good critiques.
They are
1. Start with clarifying questions. Clarify any assumptions about what the presented design is intended to do, or what kind of experience it is intended to create. Hopefully, this intent is derived from the overall project goals, which is already agreed upon.
2. Listen before speaking. Many times in work enviroments, we confuse conversations, which should be exchanges of ideas, with opportunities to inflict our opinions on others. If you take a moment to listen and understand before voicing an opinion, you're open to hear something new that might challenge your old thinking. So don't just wait for other people to finish, actively try to understand what's being said, and reflect it back to the speaker.
3. Lead into explorations of alternatives. Ask questions that surface other choices the designer might not have recognized. Postpone judgments, unless there are obvious gaps between the designers intent, and the designs you are critiquing.
4. If it fits with the goals of the critique, point out situations,sequences, or elements within the design that may be problematic given what you know about your customers, the scenarios involved, or the project goals.
Avoid statements that refer to absolutes. Instead, make points referent to the goals of the design.
5. Speak in context of your point of view. It's fine to have a personal opinion, expressing your own preferences. But don't confuse this with your perception of what your customers need or want. So make sure to specify which kind of opinion you're offering. Hopefully there is data and research to help everyone agree on the likely customer perspective on different ideas.