Inspection methods as found on useit.com

1. Is your product user-centric? Inspection methods

2. Available methods Heuristic evaluation Heuristic estimation Cognitive walkthrough Pluralistic walkthrough Feature inspection Consistency inspection Standards inspection Formal usability inspection

3. Heuristic evaluation most informal method usability specialists make sure each dialogue element follows the “heuristics”

4. Heuristic estimation relative usability of two (or more) designs quantitative terms (typically expected user performance)

5. Cognitive walkthrough simulate a user’s problem-solving process each step through the dialogue check if predicted process correctly

6. Pluralistic walkthrough users, developers, and human factors people step through use case discuss each dialog element involved

7. Feature inspection list features required for a use case checks for long sequences, cumbersome steps, steps that would not be natural for users to try, and steps that require extensive knowledge/experience

8. Consistency inspection designers from other projects make sure its consistent with their own design

9. Standards inspection an expert on an interface standard inspect the interface for compliance.

10. Formal usability inspection combines individual and group inspections six-step procedure with strictly defined roles heuristic evaluation + cognitive walkthrough.

11. More information http://www.useit.com/jakob/inspectbook.html http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/inspection_summary.html