User Interface Inspection Methods

Book excerpt: User Interface Inspection Methods succinctly covers five inspection methods: heuristic evaluation, perspective-based user interface inspection, cognitive walkthrough, pluralistic walkthrough, and formal usability inspections. Heuristic evaluation is perhaps the best-known inspection method, requiring a group of evaluators to review a product against a set of general principles. The perspective-based user interface inspection is based on the principle that different perspectives will find different problems in a user interface. In the related persona-based inspection, colleagues assume the roles of personas and review the product based on the needs, background, tasks, and pain points of the different personas. The cognitive walkthrough focuses on ease of learning. Most of the inspection methods do not require users; the main exception is the pluralistic walkthrough, in which a user is invited to provide feedback while members of a product team listen, observe the user, and ask questions. After reading this book, you will be able to use these UI inspection methods with confidence and certainty.