Usability inspection methods

Usability inspection methods, based on informed intuition s about interface design quality, hold promise of providing faster, more cost-effective ways to generate usability evaluations, compared to empirical user evaluation methods . Examples of inspection methods include heuristic evaluation (Nielsen Molich, 1990), usability walkthroughs (Bias, 1991 ; Karat Bennett, 1991a, 1991b), cognitive walk -throughs (Lewis, Polson, Wharton Reiman, 1990), and applications of guidelines in walkthroughs (Jeffries, Miller, Wharton, Uyeda, 1991). These methods have been used in development for some time in one form or another (perhap s by other names), often because there is simply no alternative like user testing. Usability inspection methods have been an object of research in the last two years or so . Progress has been made in refining methods, and understanding their role i n usability engineering.