A few months ago, I asked for your input on our Web Site Review methodology. Harley Manning, Rich Gans, and I incorporated your feedback, scoured the latest academic and human factors research, and reflected on the past 1300+ reviews we’ve completed. And the result? The latest and greatest version (version 8.0 to be exact), officially renamed Forrester’s Web Site User Experience Review 8.0.

What is it? Forrester’s Web Site User Experience Review uncovers flaws that prevent users from accomplishing key goals on Web sites. It’s is an expert evaluation, a type of methodology – also known as a heuristic evaluation or scenario review – that was originally developed by Rolf Molich and Jakob Nielsen as a lower-cost alternative to lab-based usability techniques.

How does it work? The review process begins by identifying the target users and their goals on the particular site. Armed with this information, a trained reviewer emulates the user and tries to accomplish specific goals on the site. The experience is then graded against 25 criteria. Scores for each criterion range from -2 (severe failure) to +2 (best practice), so overall scores for completed Web Site User Experience Reviews range from -50 to +50, with +25 representing a passing score.

Here are the 25 criteria:

WSUER_criteria

Read the full Executive Q&A: Web Site User Experience Reviews for answers to more questions about the methodology.

If you’d prefer to get a trained analyst involved, we’d be happy to help. Just drop me a line.