Accessibility Inspection

An evaluation approach in which an expert or designer reviews an interface against a set of accessibility criteria without recruiting end users, analogous to usability inspection methods such as heuristic evaluation, cognitive walkthrough, or guideline review. Common inspection methods include WCAG conformance audits, automated checker runs (e.g., WAVE, axe, Lighthouse), and heuristic-based reviews using frameworks like Ability Heuristics. Inspection is faster and cheaper than empirical user testing but cannot fully substitute for feedback from people with disabilities; it is most effective when used early and often alongside user testing.