An Expert Review is a usability evaluation method where UX experts analyze a product, service or system to identify usability issues and suggest improvements. Unlike user testing, it does not involve real users. This method is cost-effective and provides actionable insights, especially in the early stages of design or when quick feedback is needed.
An expert review is the key to receiving valuable feedback, uncovering hidden potential and taking quality to the next level.
An Expert Review is a valuable method for evaluating a product or system, especially when time or resources are limited. It provides fast, expert-driven insights into usability, functionality, and design, helping to identify areas for improvement. This approach ensures cost-effective, actionable feedback early in the development process.
Expert reviews and usability tests are both methods for evaluating usability, but they differ in approach. Expert reviews are conducted by UX experts who analyse a product on the basis of heuristics and expert knowledge. Usability tests, on the other hand, involve real users performing tasks, revealing actual behaviors and challenges. Combining both methods offers a well-rounded understanding of a product’s usability.
First of all, the focus of the expert review is defined together with the client. This can be specific tasks, user groups or use cases of the application.
Then, the analysis can be carried out. At least 2 experts independently review the user interface based on interaction principles, design guidelines and best practices. They evaluate the user-friendliness and identify potential problems.
Identified problems and positive aspects are documented and prioritised. Based on the insights, concrete suggestions for optimising the usability are developed for the client.
The interaction principles according to DIN EN 9241-10 contain the basic requirements for user interfaces of interactive systems in order to ensure a user-friendly and efficient use. They include principles such as consistency, learnability or user engagement. These principles should ensure that users can interact with the systems intuitively and without errors.
Behavioral design focuses on understanding and influencing user behavior to create more intuitive and effective user experiences. It combines principles from psychology, behavioral science, and design to shape interactions that align with how users think, feel, and act.
A UX Expert Review can be supplemented by the integration of behavioural design. The BJ Fogg’s Behavior Model, for example, is used to analyse whether the application motivates, empowers and triggers users. This not only improves usability, but also increases engagement and user loyalty.
Once all the insights have been collected, the problems are prioritised based on their severity and impact on the user experience.
When buttons look different on different pages, it leads to confusion, increased cognitive load and a bad user experience as users struggle to recognise the functions and navigate the interactions effectively.
Interaction principle: Expectation Conformity
Suggestion for improvement: Define a consistent button design (with colour code, shape, etc.) and follow these guidelines to achieve a uniform design on your website
When an incorrect password is entered, only “Error” is displayed, without details or suggestions for a solution. This causes confusion, frustration and difficulty in resolving the issue, resulting in a bad user experience and potential security concerns.
Interaction principle: Robustness Against User Errors
Suggestion for improvement: Display detailed and clear error messages, e.g. “The entered password is incorrect. Please try again.” Add helpful links or tips, e.g. “Forgot password?”
A long and inefficient checkout process frustrates users, increases the chance that the purchase will not be completed and reduces the conversion rates of online shops.
Interaction principle: Task Suitability
Suggestion for improvement: Simplify the checkout process by only asking for necessary information and request related information in a step.
It is important not only to identify problems, but also to suggest improvements to the client. In most cases the recommendations are described. For more complex problems, sketches are created to visualise the suggestions for improvement.
At the end of the expert review there is a final presentation. In this presentation, the procedure, the findings and the suggestions for improvement are presented. We also recommend the next steps to the customer in order to maximise the added value of the expert review.