Published 12 September 2026 · Source dated 18 August 2026
When an AI tool hands you three layout options, eyeballing them and picking the one that feels right skips the review step. Heuristic evaluation is decades old, and it still catches problems a vibe-check misses.
Coach
next time an AI tool gives you multiple UI options, spend 10 minutes running a heuristic pass on each and write down which heuristic each option breaks before you pick one.
Surf this topic: UCD methods (opens in a new tab)
Source: nngroup.com (opens in a new tab) ·
Jakob Nielsen's ten usability heuristics have been the backbone of UX critique since 1994. They're worth relearning properly, not just skimming the list.
nngroup.com (opens in a new tab)
Your move
Pick one screen from your own portfolio and run it against all ten heuristics — write down which one it breaks hardest, and fix that first.
AI tools can generate screens fast, but they don't validate usability — that's still on you. Classic heuristic evaluation is more relevant, not less, now that production speed has gone up.
nngroup.com (opens in a new tab)
Your move
before you ship your next AI-assisted screen, run a quick 10-point heuristic check against it and write down what fails.
More first drafts are arriving via AI agents, but the fundamentals of a good design critique haven't moved. IxDF's literature on critique still holds regardless of who — or what — made the first version.
interaction-design.org (opens in a new tab)
Your move
next time you review an AI-assisted design, ask 'what user problem does this solve?' before commenting on how it looks.
