Alright, let’s talk about this Gavin Wilkinson thing. It’s not some big secret method or anything, just something I stumbled upon and decided to try out myself, see if it actually worked in the real world, you know?
It started a few months back. I was looking at ways to maybe improve how our little team handles feedback on design mockups. Things were getting messy. Emails flying everywhere, comments lost in chat threads, different versions causing confusion. You know the drill. Someone mentioned a talk or an article by this Gavin Wilkinson person – honestly, the name stuck more than the exact source – about a simplified feedback loop.
Getting Started
The core idea, as I understood it, was super simple: centralize everything, ruthlessly. Stop using ten different channels. So, I thought, okay, let’s give it a shot on a small internal project first. Didn’t want to mess up a client deliverable right out of the gate.
First step: I had to convince the team. Not everyone loves changing their workflow, even a messy one. So, I explained the pain points we all knew – lost feedback, version confusion. Then I laid out the Wilkinson idea (or my interpretation of it): one single place for mockups, one single place for feedback directly tied to that mockup version.
Next: Setting it up. We decided to try using a shared drive folder structure combined with a simple commenting tool that could overlay on images. Nothing fancy. I created the main project folder. Inside, I made folders for each major version: ‘Version 1’, ‘Version 2’, etc.
- Inside each version folder, I put the actual mockup files.
- Crucially, I added a simple text file, like a ‘README’, explaining what this version was supposed to address.
- For feedback, we agreed to use the commenting feature directly on the image preview if the tool allowed, or link to a specific shared document ONLY for that version’s feedback. No more emails or random chats for comments.
The Process and Hurdles
Putting it into practice was… well, it took effort. The first week was rough. People forgot. Someone sent feedback in an email. Another dropped a comment in the general chat. I had to gently nudge everyone back to the system. “Hey, can you add that comment to the Version 2 feedback doc?” became my catchphrase.
We also found that just having version folders wasn’t quite enough. Sometimes minor tweaks needed tracking. So we added sub-folders like ‘Version 2.1’, ‘Version 2.2’. It made the structure a bit deeper, but clearer.
A key thing: Old versions had to be clearly marked as ‘Archived’ or moved out once a new major version was up. This stopped people accidentally commenting on an outdated mockup. I made it a habit, end of the day or start of the next, to clean up the folders.
Did It Work?
Yeah, surprisingly, it kinda did. After the initial grumbling and adjustment period, things got smoother. Finding the latest version? Easy, it’s the highest number not marked ‘Archived’. Finding the feedback for that version? It’s right there with it, either in the linked doc or the comments on the file itself.
It wasn’t magic. It didn’t solve creative disagreements or anything. But the process of feedback became less chaotic. We spent less time hunting for that one comment someone made three days ago in a long-forgotten email thread.
So, that’s my experience trying out that little nugget I mentally tagged with ‘Gavin Wilkinson’. It was just about applying a bit of structure and discipline. Sometimes the simple ideas, the ones that just need consistent effort, actually make a decent difference. Still using a modified version of it today.
