SMART Feedback

SMART Feedback

Author: BJ Burns and Will Gant July 6, 2023 Duration: 44:34

Feedback is any information, observation, or even opinion about the performance or behavior of another individual our group. It can be formal as in performance or peer evaluations or informal such as with mentoring a junior developer. It is a form of communication designed to provide guidance that helps the other person to grow and achieve their goals.

Providing feedback gives insights and identifies areas of improvement. Often it is used to guide those you are leading toward personal and professional growth. To the person receiving the feedback it can be stressful, especially if it is not all positive. It can also be very stressful to the person who is providing the feedback, especially if they are not a confrontational or naturally assertive person. Having a plan of action when providing feedback not only helps the person receive it better but also helps the person providing the feedback.

As feedback is a way to help achieve goals the technique for creating effective goals (SMART) can also be applied to providing feedback. To review, SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Applying SMART to feedback will better define what you are getting across and make it more actionable.

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) is a framework most often used in goal setting. However when applied to providing feedback it will enhance the abilities of the person providing the feedback and allow the recipient to better understand what they need to do to achieve their goals. Using this framework ensures that the items coming from the feedback are actionable, well defined, and focused on the issue or goal at hand. Whether you are doing performance plans for those working for you, peer or code reviews, or just mentoring someone who is not as far along as you apply the SMART framework to your feedback and see the improvement in reception and accomplishment.

The post SMART Feedback appeared first on Complete Developer Podcast.


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BJ Burns and Will Gant host the Complete Developer Podcast, a conversation that goes far beyond just writing code. These two seasoned developers built this show from a simple idea: that a career in tech is about more than the latest framework or language syntax. It's about the entire ecosystem you navigate, from the logic on your screen to the dynamics of the business meetings and the long-term path of your career. Each episode feels like pulling up a chair in the break room with colleagues who get it, discussing the real, often unspoken, parts of the job. You'll hear them tackle the intersection of technology, business strategy, and professional growth, making sense of how these pieces fit together in a practical, everyday way. This podcast digs into the questions that don't always have a clear answer in a manual-how to communicate effectively with non-technical teams, ways to approach career advancement, or how to balance deep technical work with the broader goals of a company. It's a resource for anyone who writes code but lives in a much bigger world, offering perspective and discussion that aims to make the whole journey a bit more comprehensible and a lot more manageable. Tune in for thoughtful, grounded talks that treat development as the multifaceted profession it truly is.
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