In this article, you’ll find a comprehensive roundup of free, customizable design review checklists in Excel, Word, and PDF formats. Download checklists for different phases of a design review and for specific types of projects.
Use this checklist to perform a preliminary design review (PDR) of your project. The template walks you through high-level criteria relevant to this early stage of the process — check off entry and exit criteria, deliverables, risk assessment and mitigation efforts, your agenda, presentation materials, requests for action (RFAs), technical coordination efforts, and more. The simple table also provides space to add comments about each activity.
Download Preliminary Design Review Checklist
A critical design review (CDR) is a technical review you perform while a project is underway to verify plans are working out as expected. You usually perform CDRs for technical systems projects, but you can conduct them for any design project to ensure you complete all the elements as specified. Fill in this simple checklist with project objectives, an outline of the approach, system implementation details, a schedule, a status update of each component or deliverable, and any challenges. There is also space to get approval signatures before proceeding to the next phase of the project.
Download Critical Design Review Checklist
After you put prototypes or project components through multiple rounds of testing and just before you’re ready to launch or publish your design project, perform a final design review (FDR). This FDR template includes space to detail project or product information. It also includes a table where you can check off each design item and its verification testing outcome. Then you can grade each design item for compliance in a variety of categories.
The template comes pre-filled with rows for aesthetic, safety, environmental, and industry standards (among others), but you can customize the checklist to fit the needs and specifications of your project.
Download Final Design Review Checklist
Some projects benefit from a requirements review, wherein stakeholders determine everything that a project will entail (and require) at the outset. This process differs from a PDR; with a requirements review, you simply make a list of all necessary components, but don’t yet have to review their viability.
This simple requirements review checklist — adapted from a standard statement of work (SOW) — includes space to list project details, objectives, and your rationale. It also includes a table to note the due date and completion criteria for each individual deliverable. Get input from all relevant stakeholders and have them sign off before moving forward with production.
Download Requirements Review Checklist
Often, non-developers or non-designers also have to sign off on the design elements of a particular product or project. This template is designed specifically for non-technical design reviews. The checklist prompts you to review design, typography, and size consistency; appropriateness of wording; design flexibility and feasibility; and any legal implications.
Download Non-Technical Design Review Checklist
This simple template walks you through a typical design review meeting to keep everyone on the same page and ensure you don’t overlook any critical factors. The template functions like an outline and provides space to detail the project background, key objectives, and concept selection. The agenda prompts you to perform a brief feasibility analysis, review risks, and decide on next steps.
The template uses an architecture project as an example, but you can customize the document to fit your needs.
Download Design Review Agenda Template
This Excel template provides four worksheets that break down the review process from start to finish. With this capability, you can review design milestones, high-level pre-design requirements, technical requirements, and the user interface all in one easy-to-use file.
The template comes pre-filled with sample elements for review but is completely customizable to fit the needs of your specific project.
Download Design Milestone Breakout Checklist
This template is designed specifically with engineering projects in mind. Use the checklist to guide your review of physical product specs, safety considerations, environmental impact, legal and regulatory compliance, and handling and assembly requirements, among other factors. You can customize the template to meet the needs of your engineering project. It also includes signature lines for final approval.
Download Engineering Design Review Checklist
Use this template to conduct a design review of any systems-based project, and edit the checklist to include additional specifications that apply to your project. The template comes with space to detail project information, feasibility, design approach, constraints, limitations, risks, assumptions, compliance, and much more. Depending on the stage at which you perform the review, you can also include information about testing and deployment.
Download System Design Review Checklist
This checklist is created specifically with software projects in mind. The simple layout prompts you to review (and comment on) system requirements, software structure, the user interface, data models, and much more, but you can add or remove criteria to fit the needs of your project. Once you complete a CDR and all testing, use this checklist to perform a final review of your software project.
Download Software Design Review Checklist
Use this checklist to conduct a design review for an electrical project. The template comes pre-filled with sections to address compliance and safety requirements, as well as specific electrical considerations, such as alarm panels, gas, and lighting. Add more rows to fit the needs of your project, and get sign-off on each element to ensure that your electrical project is up to design specs, code, and safety regulations.
Download Electrical Design Review Checklist
Use this checklist to review architectural designs, particularly for single-home construction projects. The template includes space to review all aspects of a traditional architectural project, including the site, building, and landscape plans; height requirements; and details about the facade (e.g., exterior colors, fencing, and masonry). You can edit the template to fit the needs of your particular endeavor.
Download Architectural Design Review Checklist
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