Expert Review

When you engage Nielsen Norman Group for an expert design review, our experienced usability researcher inspects your interface for usability issues and areas for improvement. We rate how well your site or application adheres to best practices and user interface principles to make the findings actionable.

A thorough design review is beneficial when deciding on a new strategy for your user experience. Our independent position allows us to evaluate your designs from a fresh perspective.

Even if you're not planning to change direction, it's still valuable to commission an independent UX assessment periodically to reduce risk. Expert reviews ensure there's nothing major you've overlooked by being too close to the design.

What to Expect

We conduct a detailed analysis of your interface to identify the strengths and weaknesses. The specific areas we review depend on the project goals. However, the themes usually involve usability heuristics that we developed, such as consistency and standards, error prevention, and user control and freedom. We rate the findings by severity level to help you and your team prioritize the work.

Unlike traditional usability testing, which requires more upfront planning and recruitment, design reviews can be completed more quickly. 

Deliverables

Design review reports highlight key findings and provide clear, practical recommendations to improve the user experience and meet business goals. Each report includes detailed evaluations with examples, callouts, best-practice discussions, and actionable guidance. We tailor the deliverables to your specific needs; you can choose to receive the results in either a written report or a presentation deck.

Pricing by Design Review Offerings

• Single website, intranet, or application: starting at $60,000 USD
• Multiple websites and/or applications: starting at $70,000 USD
• Competitive review (Your experience + 3 competitors): starting at $80,000 USD

Why Work With Nielsen Norman Group?

• Research-backed recommendations: Our guidance is grounded in decades of global usability research, informed by observations of thousands of people using various interfaces. We know from experience what works and what doesn’t.

• Vendor independence: We don’t promote any specific tools or technologies. Many of the usability methods we use were developed by our team and refined over decades, which allows us to make sound, unbiased recommendations.

• Fresh perspectives: As external experts, we offer an impartial view, focused solely on what’s best for your organization and its customers.