A design review is most useful when the team can still change the design. Yet meetings often fill with polished slides and status updates, leaving little time to discuss the uncertain parts. A better review makes room for questions before it asks for approval.
Separate facts from assumptions
Start with the decisions that matter and the evidence behind them. Which loads have been calculated, which conditions have been measured, and which inputs are estimates? When assumptions are stated plainly, reviewers can focus on whether they are reasonable instead of trying to infer them from a finished-looking diagram.
Ask where the design is vulnerable
Useful questions get specific: What changes if the actual installation space is narrower? Which interface is hardest to inspect? What failure would be difficult to notice before it affects the system? These questions are not a search for someone to blame. They help the team find the places where a calculation, test, or clearer requirement could reduce uncertainty.
Leave with named next steps
A discussion that ends with “we should look into that” is easy to lose once everyone returns to their own tasks. Capture the open question, the person responsible for following up, and what evidence would resolve it. The review has done its job when the team knows what is ready to proceed and what still needs attention.