The skill: Knowing what makes a UI good or bad without being a designer. The ability to look at a screen, identify what's off, name the principle being violated, and give specific, actionable feedback instead of "it feels weird."
The three-reflex walkthrough
Every time you look at a screen — your own product, a design review, a competitor — run three reflexes in order. Takes 30 seconds. Produces feedback specific enough to act on.
Reflex 1: Count the choices. How many competing actions can you take on this screen? Three options is fast. Seven is slow. Fifteen is paralysis — decision time increases logarithmically with the number of choices. When you see a crowded screen, the question isn't "what can we remove?" (too vague). It's "which three matter most?" Make those three dominant. Push everything else behind a click.
Reflex 2: Find the friction. Walk through the screen as a new user. Where do you hesitate? Where do you have to think? Check three things: Is the primary CTA big and obvious, or is it the same size as secondary actions? (Important targets need to be large and close to the cursor — if the design makes the user hunt for the main action, it's working against the product goal.) Does the interface work like similar products the user already knows? (Innovation should happen in the value you deliver, not in how the dropdown works.) Does the system respond fast enough to keep flow? Under 400ms keeps users engaged. Above 2 seconds, they wonder if something is broken. Above 5, they leave.
Reflex 3: Name the principle. The goal is never "it feels off." Always name what's wrong: "too many competing actions on this screen," "the primary CTA is tiny and buried in the corner," "this flow breaks expectations from how every other tool handles it." Two more principles to keep loaded: complexity can't be destroyed, only moved — simplifying the UI means the system absorbs the complexity, not that you've hidden it behind an "Advanced" toggle 80% of users need. And users judge an experience by its best moment and its last moment — design for peaks and endings, not averages.
Julie Zhuo's 7-Question Critique
Julie Zhuo ran design reviews at Facebook for over a decade. Her framework turns vague reactions into structured feedback. Before you say anything about a design, run through these questions in order:
- What is the user journey to get here? You can't furnish a room if you don't know how someone lives. Who is this user? When do they use this? How did they arrive at this screen, and what's on their mind?
- What do we want users to feel and achieve here? Define the successful outcome before you start lobbing feedback. If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up someplace else.
- How important is this page or experience? Not everything deserves the same level of polish. Triage your feedback energy.
- What are the key actions? Identify the one or two things a user should do on this screen. If you can't name them, the design has a focus problem.
- Is the information hierarchy clear? Can you tell what's most important in under two seconds? If everything is emphasized, nothing is.
- Does this feel trustworthy and credible? Small details, alignment, spacing, consistent iconography, build or erode trust faster than copy does.
- What would make you come back? A great first experience means nothing if there's no reason to return. Think about the habit loop, not just the first impression.
The power of these questions is that none of them require design expertise. They require empathy and clarity about what the product is trying to do. That's a PM skill, not a designer skill.
Building taste
Knowing principles and frameworks is table stakes. Real product taste comes from deliberate practice. Pick products you admire, use them deeply, and ask yourself what makes each interaction feel right. Sachin Rekhi treats this as a discipline, not a hobby — the same way a chef develops palate by eating intentionally, not just often.
Then ground that taste in reality. Pipe unfiltered customer feedback from support tickets, social media, and sales calls into a single channel the whole team sees. Rekhi calls these "Feedback Rivers." You can't judge UX quality in a vacuum. A design that looks clean in Figma might be confusing to someone who just came from a frustrated support email. Immersing yourself in raw customer voice daily sharpens judgment faster than any design system guide.
Do's and Don'ts
Written with ❤️ by a human (still)