lyndonkl Design Evaluation & Audit
Table of Contents
Skill Boundaries
Use instead of this skill for:
- Creating new designs from scratch: use
cognitive-design - Learning cognitive theory: use
cognitive-designPath 1 - Detecting misleading visualizations: use
cognitive-fallacies-guard
Design Review Workflow
Time: 30-90 minutes depending on scope
Copy this checklist and track your progress:
Design Evaluation Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Systematic Assessment
- [ ] Step 2: Visualization Quality Audit (if applicable)
- [ ] Step 3: Severity Classification & Prioritization
- [ ] Step 4: Fix Recommendations
Step 1: Systematic Assessment
Apply the Cognitive Design Checklist across all 8 dimensions: Visibility, Visual Hierarchy, Chunking, Simplicity, Memory Support, Feedback, Consistency, Scanning Patterns. Check every item. Record pass/fail for each dimension with specific evidence.
Resource: Cognitive Design Checklist
Step 2: Visualization Quality Audit (if applicable)
If the design includes data visualizations, apply the 4-Criteria Visualization Audit. Score each criterion 1-5: Clarity, Efficiency, Integrity, Aesthetics. Calculate average and identify weakest dimension.
Resource: Visualization Audit Framework
Step 3: Severity Classification & Prioritization
Classify every finding by severity:
- CRITICAL: Integrity violations, accessibility failures, users cannot complete core tasks. Fix immediately.
- HIGH: Clarity/efficiency issues preventing use, missing feedback for critical actions, working memory overload (>10 ungrouped items). Fix before launch.
- MEDIUM: Suboptimal patterns, aesthetic issues, minor inconsistencies. Fix in next iteration.
- LOW: Minor optimizations, polish items. Fix when convenient.
Priority rule: Fix foundation-first — perception before coherence, integrity before aesthetics, critical before high.
Step 4: Fix Recommendations
For each finding, document:
- What is wrong — specific description with evidence
- Why it matters — which cognitive principle is violated
- How to fix — concrete, actionable recommendation
- Expected outcome — what improves after the fix
- Effort estimate — quick fix (minutes), moderate (hours), significant (days)
Verify fixes don't harm other dimensions.
Path Selection Menu
Path 1: Run Cognitive Design Checklist
Choose this when: Evaluating any interface, layout, content page, form, or general design.
What you'll get: Pass/fail across 8 cognitive dimensions, test methods, common failures, severity-classified findings.
Time: 20-40 minutes
→ Go to Cognitive Design Checklist
Path 2: Run Visualization Audit
Choose this when: Evaluating data visualizations — charts, graphs, dashboards, infographics.
What you'll get: 1-5 scores on Clarity, Efficiency, Integrity, Aesthetics with pass/fail threshold.
Time: 15-30 minutes per visualization
→ Go to Visualization Audit Framework
Path 3: Combined Review
Choose this when: Comprehensive review covering both interface elements and data visualizations.
Process: Run Cognitive Checklist first, then Visualization Audit on each data component, merge findings, produce unified fix list.
Time: 45-90 minutes
→ Start with Cognitive Checklist, then Visualization Audit
Quick Reference
3-Question Rapid Check
1. Attention — "Is it obvious what to look at first?"
- If NO: hierarchy and visibility issues
2. Memory — "Is the user required to remember anything that could be shown?"
- If NO: memory support and chunking issues
3. Clarity — "Can someone unfamiliar understand in 5 seconds?"
- If NO: simplicity and comprehension issues
All YES = likely cognitively sound. Any NO = run full checklist on the failing area.
Guardrails
Out of scope: Creating designs, teaching theory, providing domain guidance, replacing user testing, or covering full accessibility compliance.
In scope: Systematic evaluation against cognitive principles, severity-classified findings, prioritized fix recommendations, and visualization quality scoring.