How to Effectively Review Other People’s Work

Being able to review someone else’s work is one of those extremely valuable skills that someone aspiring to any kind of leadership position must master. It can be a very challenging and intimidating task, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some basic tips that will help you not only rise to the task, but also excel at it.

Please note: The type of review I will be referring to for this article is what I call a in depth review. That means it’s as much for content as it is for basic grammar and spelling.

• Be familiar with the topic – This might seem like a no-brainer if you’re doing a content review, however you’ll be surprised how often this isn’t the case. If you are not familiar enough with the topic to make a good review, please let me know. The last thing you want to do is make your job worse after your feedback is incorporated. One of the worst results of this is that one of your comments could actually cause your work to be incorrect, which can lead to a cascade of different problems.
• Have a template for your comments – Many times someone has sent my work back to me with their comments scattered throughout the document, forcing me to search the document to find out what they said. This is a very time consuming process and also leaves room for missing a comment, especially if it is a large document. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine to make comments inline, however you should also mark where these comments are in a predefined template. This template is usually pretty basic, a simple example would contain the name of the reviewer, the date of the review, the work being reviewed, and then for each comment there would be a reference number, location, and description.
• be descriptive – If you’re going to make a comment, be sure to explain exactly what you’re getting at. It doesn’t have to be a thesis, but typing “Wrong” won’t be enough and will only lead to having to explain each comment. Usually a few short sentences should be enough to explain yourself. They should contain what you are referencing and how you think it should be changed. If you need more than that, it’s probably best to take note of their comment and talk to them about it.
• Be constructive with your criticism. – This goes hand in hand with the previous point. If you think something needs to be fixed, don’t put “This sucks, get rid of everything and then play in traffic.” While it may be true that they need to do a lot of work, instead of pure negative criticism, suggest a way it can be improved.
• be objective – This could be the most important piece of advice I can give you. Many times at work we are asked to review the work of someone we don’t necessarily like or respect. This should NOT be taken into account when you actually do your review. Remember, you are reviewing their work, not them personally. Even if you don’t like them, their work could be important to your project. Making it worse or not helping to improve that product won’t do you any good in the long run.
• Make sure you have the latest version – This is a two-way street. While it’s the other person’s responsibility to make sure you have the latest and greatest copy of her work to review, your time will be wasted if he reviews the wrong copy. Before you start reviewing, do a final check with them to make sure you have the correct copy.
• Reserve time for the conference – Make sure you are prepared to take time and answer questions about your review. I have never had a review where I was not asked questions or asked myself questions. Know that this is going to happen and try to plan accordingly. A good idea if you are short on time during the day is to schedule a time to go over the review and make sure you have all your questions ready when you meet.

I cannot stress this enough: being able to indeed and thoroughly Reviewing someone else’s work is one of the most important skills you can develop in today’s workplace. Leading others is one of the most important milestones in most people’s careers, and to do so, you need to be able to review what they produce.