| name | quality-facets |
| description | Framework for defining, measuring, and tracking the specific attributes of quality that matter for a product. Turns vague "needs work" into precise, measurable evaluation. Use when evaluating quality, setting targets, planning improvements, deciding where to focus effort, or aligning a team on what "good" means. Trigger on: quality, evaluate, measure, prioritize, what matters, tradeoffs, where to invest, rating, scoring, what's most important, product direction, quality bar.
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Quality Facets
How do you know what you're designing is good — not just functional, but good in the way you want it to be perceived? Facets are the answer.
Defining Your Facets
Facets are external characteristics you want users to perceive — what they see, experience, and feel. They are NOT generic qualities all products should have (like "useful" or "reliable"). They're specific and situational.
How to define them
Ask: "When someone uses this, what do I want them to feel and perceive?"
Each facet should be:
- Specific to your product — not universal
- Externally perceivable — something users experience
- Distinct from others — each captures something different
- Aspirational — what you're striving for
Examples
Design education platform: Crafted, Fidgetable, Authentic, Expansive, Inventive
Legal/financial app: Trustworthy, Calm, Expert, Supportive
Developer tool: Fast, Precise, Extensible, Native
Your list will be different. That's the point.
Evaluating (1-5 Scale)
- 1 — Absolute minimum you can live with
- 3 — Meets expectations, solid but unremarkable
- 5 — Best you can imagine
Rate each facet honestly. This often reveals surprises:
- Your strongest facet might be something you weren't focused on
- Your weakest might be what users care about most
- You might be over-investing in one area at another's expense
Using Facets
For planning
Lowest-rated facets that matter most should drive your roadmap.
For critique
Instead of "this doesn't feel right":
"This doesn't feel inventive enough. We were at 4, this feels like we're going backwards."
For team alignment
Shared vocabulary for productive tradeoff conversations:
"This feature improves Expansive from 1.5 to 2.5, but brings Crafted down from 3 to 2.5. Right tradeoff?"
For tracking
Measure at each release. Prevents quality regression — catch it before users feel it.
Constants vs. Facets
Some qualities are constants — true of ALL good products: consistent, well-built, accessible, performant. These aren't facets — they're table stakes.
Facets are the layer above — qualities that make your product feel like your product.
Applying This
When evaluating or building:
- Help define facets if they don't exist. Ask what users should perceive.
- Evaluate current state honestly against each facet.
- Identify gaps between current and aspiration.
- Recommend focus areas based on priority and gap size.
- After building, self-evaluate: does this move each facet in the right direction?
