Performing a Visual Audit

Everyone at Tiffinbox "knows" the apps are inconsistent. But "inconsistent" is a feeling, and feelings don't win budget. "We have 14 button styles, 37 greys and 23 font sizes" is a fact, and facts do. A visual audit turns the feeling into numbers you can show and act on.

The rule

Screenshot everything, group like with like, count the differences.

A visual audit, sometimes called an interface inventory, is a complete collection of the interface as it really exists today.

• Screenshot everything. Go through every product and capture every instance of each kind of element: buttons, text fields, headings, colours, icons, cards, dialogs, messages, spacing. Include rarely visited corners such as settings, error pages and emails.
• Group like with like. Put all the buttons together, all the dialogs together, and so on, on one large board or in a spreadsheet.
• Count the differences. Within each group, count how many distinct versions exist and where each one appears.

Screenshots are not the only source. Code can be audited too. This command counts how many different six-digit colour codes a codebase uses:

Also audit the written record: any existing style guide, brand book or wiki page. Note what it says and, more importantly, where the product no longer matches it. Outdated documentation is itself a finding.

The finished audit does two jobs. It is the evidence that persuades leaders to fund the system, and it is the to-do list for the merge step: every group with many versions needs consolidating.

The shortcut

For every group, record three things: category, count, location. What kind of element is it, how many versions exist, and where each version lives. Those three columns turn a wall of screenshots into decisions.

A common mistake is auditing only the "main" screens. The odd versions hide in the corners, and those are exactly what the audit exists to find.

Drills

Answer fast — trust the rule.

Remember

• Screenshot everything, group like with like, count the differences; audit the written record too.
• Shortcut: for every group, record category, count and location.
• Trap: auditing only the main screens and missing the corners where the odd versions live.