I am interested in suggesting a set of criteria for evaluating a
prototype user interface. How would one develop a structured method
for evaluating user interfaces based on these criteria (once they are
set)
Detailed answer with links/references if possible needed

Hello Nipthenti,
I have a hunch that the first link below will satisfy your question in
full. However, I will include as much as I can find on the Internet
that discusses evaluating user interfaces.

In summary, what I can say off the top of my head is that research on
the specific field of the user interface is a key element of
evaluation. If the criteria is specific to a certain type of program,
what kind of program is it? What is the user expected to do with it?
What kind of user is expected to use it? A user interface for a game
for example would have different standards from that of a graphics
editor program.

It would help to also study other guidelines if you can access them,
so you would know what to follow and what not to follow. Some
important examples of guidelines are included among the links listed
below.

User interfaces would also ultimately be given testing, so the
standards that the user interface should pass must be well-defined.
The one thing that must never be forgotten is the satisfaction of the
end user. Ease of use and ease of learning the interface, for example,
are vital criteria.

There are also some considerations such as allowing disabled or
hampered people (such as color-blind or deaf people) to use it.
Ergonomic ideas such as colors that are too strong for the eyes,
buttons too far apart for a smooth mouse glide, etc., are also to be
considered in user interfaces. Considerations for these special cases
must be kept in mind.

I listed as many I could find on the topic of User Interface Design.


Sources:
User Interface Standards: How to Evaluate - by Henrik Thostrup and
Jakob Nielsen, 1991
http://www.useit.com/papers/standards.html

Criteria Checklist - User Interface by Canadian Heritage Information
Network
http://www.chin.gc.ca/English/Collections_Management/Criteria_Checklist/crit-interface.html

Web-Based User Interface Evaluation with Questionnaires
http://www.acm.org/~perlman/question.html

Infopolis2- General Design Criteria
http://www.ul.ie/~infopolis/guidelin/common.html

User Interface Design Criteria - from California Polytechnic State
University
http://www.csc.calpoly.edu/~jdalbey/SWE/QA/UICriteria.html

User interface approaches for accessibility in complex World-Wide-Web
applications- an example
http://ui4all.ics.forth.gr/UI4ALL-2000/files/Position_Papers/Cooper.pdf

User interface design, designing end user interface, user interface
designing consultations - by Instructional Design.com
http://www.instructionaldesign.com/softwareuserinterface.htm

EINS-Web: User Interface Evaluation in Digital Libraries
http://www.ercim.org/publication/Ercim_News/enw36/marchetti.html

Guidelines for Designing User Interface Software : Introduction
http://www.hcibib.org/sam/

User Interface Engineering
http://www.uie.com/
- Here’s a site where you can get news and articles on design. 

Models and Tools for User Interface Design and Evaluation
http://www3.usal.es/interaccion2001/descargas/fabio.pdf


Links to standards for specific type of interfaces:
KDE Standards - Basics
http://developer.kde.org/documentation/standards/kde/style/basics/

MSDN Library - User Interface Standards
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnsmart01/html/sa01i1.asp

MSDN Library - Guidelines for Keyboard User Interface Design
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnacc/html/ATG_KeyboardShortcuts.asp

Java Look and Feel design guidelines by Sun Microsystems
http://java.sun.com/products/jlf/ed1/dg/index.htm

A Framework for Criteria and Measures for Evaluation of User
Interfaces in Digital Libraries
http://www.sztaki.hu/conferences/deval/presentations/Nicholas_J_Belkin-Deval.ppt


Bibliograhy:
Interactions Resources: Guidelines and Standards
http://www.acm.org/~perlman/interactions/21-std.html

Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines (HI Guide)
http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/mac/HIGuidelines/HIGuidelines-2.html

Practical User Interface Design: Making Guis Work
by Carl Zetie, book listing at Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0077091671/102-0404687-5352938?vi=glance

RR-2326 : Evaluating a user interface with ergonomic criteria
http://www.inria.fr/rrrt/rr-2326.html
- This is a link to an 850KB zipped Coreldraw file, though I haven’t
tried opening it.


Others:
Review of User Interface Guidelines or Design Standards
http://www.nngroup.com/services/guidelinereview.html
- Here, a certain company offers a service of reviewing interface
designs for companies.

The 21st Century User Interface Issues in interface design for student
systems in the new millennium - Academic paper
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/html/cmr9929/cmr9929.html

Interface Consult - Your Usability & Web Expert
http://www.usability.at/e/

Guidance From the Graphical User Interface (GUI) Experience
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/gui.html


Google Search strings:
user interface standards
user interface evaluation
user interface criteria

I hope this has been a most helpful answer. If you have any problem
with it, do please post a Request for Clarification and I shall
respond. Thank you.

Thanks

In addition to Tector's well-chosen links, the following procedural's
may also be useful to you.

How would one develop a structured method for evaluating user
interfaces based on these criteria (once they are set)?


A customized method is developed by defining a usability
evaluation/testing protocol. The protocol may include both heuristic
evaluation (comparison to established usability guidelines) and
prototyping, and either quantitative or qualitative user testing to
evaluate the interface as actually perceived by the targeted user.

This type of protocol is best implemented at the beginning of a
development project, starting with comparison studies, prototyping,
user testing of prototypes, and user product testing at key
development stages. If a testing program is implemented late in a
development project, it is more likely to lead to costly redesign
issues.

The typical members of a usability evaluation team would be:

-- Marketing Team
-- Development Team
-- Usability specialist(s) - Trained in usability testing and
   evaluation; capable of preparing an evaluation protocol, developing
   a set of criteria defining the target user, recruiting such users,
   setting up or using a current usability testing lab, administering
   usability tests, reporting findings, acting as a liaison and 
   facilitator to both the development and marketing teams. 

Typical stages of a usability project might be:

-- Comparison
   Heuristic evaluation and/or usability testing of the current
   product, or competitive products. Finding out what users like,
   love, and don't like. Reporting the results to team members and
   any oversight personnel. 
-- Early Development
   Working in tandem with the development team to prototype the
   project, as well as structuring and producing a user testing
   and evaluation schedule to be incorporated into the project
   timeline.
-- Testing/Feedback
   Liaison with the marketing team to define and recruit users 
   who match the user profile. Usability testing of paper or more
   advanced prototypes by target users at scheduled stages of the
   development cycle. Reporting results to the development team.
-- Post-release Testing
   Usability evaluation and testing of the final product, tweaking
   the interface, and noting upgrades/features for the next 
   version(s).

An excellent print resource, especially useful for those not familiar
with usability testing and protocol (i.e. management) would be:

Don't Make Me Think
Steve Krug
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0789723107/qid=1054412506/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-6329732-1301526?v=glance&s=books

Best regards,

--larre