Expert evaluation
An expert (or "heuristic") evaluation is a critical review of the layout, visual design, features, nomenclature, content and overall usability of a product, which is evaluated against a pre-defined set of 'heuristics' (rules of thumb).
Rather than involving participants representative of the actual or intended end user, the evaluation is performed by one or more 'experts' in user-interface design, usability, information architecture, content, etc., who familiarize themselves with the features, navigation, and representative tasks of a product, take notes and screenshots, and generate design recommendations (including multiple evaluators helps increase validity of the findings and the usefulness and credibility of the design recommendations).
The evaluation can be restricted to the product in question only, or it can include external products and form part of a competitive review, and can be performed on any aspect of the user interface of a product at any stage of its development.
Quick and inexpensive, an expert evaluation is an effective way to identify design issues before a product is evaluated with a more formal methodology (e.g., usability testing). However, it should not be performed in lieu of more formal research methods involving representative participants; it is best used as a complement to other methods.
UXagility has performed numerous expert evaluations for a variety of products for a variety of applications.