Eight types of usability inspection methods

There are eight common types of usability inspection methods. These methods are:
1 Cognitive walkthrough
2 Consistency inspection
3 Feature inspection
4 Formal usability inspection
5 Heuristic evaluation
6 Heuristic estimation
7 Pluralistic walkthrough
8 Standards inspection.

Cognitive walkthrough.
This entails detailed procedure to simulate a user's problem-solving process at each step through the user interface. This method checks if the simulated user's goals and memory content can be assumed to lead to the next correct action.

Feature inspection.
There is a list of sequences of features used to accomplish typical tasks, checks for long sequences, cumbersome steps. There are steps that would not be natural for users to try, and steps that require extensive knowledge/experience in order to evaluate a proposed feature set.

Consistency inspection.
Web designers are involved with multiple other projects inspect the user interface to see whether it does things in the same way as other user interface designs.

Formal usability inspection.
This involves combination of individual and group inspections in a six-step procedure with strictly defined roles to inspect. Formal usability inspection has elements of both heuristic evaluation and a simplified form of cognitive walkthroughs.

Heuristic evaluation.
This is a rather informal method which involves having usability professionals judge whether each user interface follows the predetermined usability principles (the "heuristics").

Heuristic estimation.
This method involves the inspectors are asked to estimate the relative usability of two (or more) user interface designs in quantitative terms (typically expected user performance).

Pluralistic walkthrough.
Group meetings are held where users, developers, and human factors people walk through a scenario, discussing each user interface element.

Standards inspection.
Usability professional shall inspect the user interface for compliance to predetermined standards and guidelines.