Component Spec vs Heuristic Evaluation

Component Spec

By JR Brugger (Design Workflow)

Write complete design system specs covering variants, states, accessibility, and usage.

Heuristic Evaluation

By JR Brugger (Design Workflow)

Get expert UX reviews of your app or website using proven usability principles.

Component Spec

• Generates structured component specifications with anatomy breakdowns, variants, and props
• Documents all component states (hover, focus, disabled, loading, error) with clear descriptions
• Includes accessibility requirements like ARIA roles, keyboard navigation, and screen reader support
• Provides usage guidelines with do/don't examples and content rules
• Covers behavior details like interactions, animations, and responsive breakpoints

Heuristic Evaluation

• Evaluates your interface against 10 proven usability heuristics like system visibility, error prevention, and consistency
• Documents each issue with severity ratings from cosmetic to critical
• Provides specific recommendations for fixing each problem found
• Reviews both new user and experienced user perspectives
• Prioritizes findings so you know what to fix first

Reach for Component Spec when…

• You're building a design system and need to document components thoroughly
• Your team needs shared specs so designers and developers stay aligned
• You're onboarding someone and want clear component documentation to reference
• You need to ensure accessibility is baked into every component from the start

Reach for Heuristic Evaluation when…

• You're about to launch and want to catch UX issues before users do
• You need to prioritize design improvements with limited resources
• You want expert feedback on a prototype or new feature
• You're preparing for user testing and want to fix obvious problems first