Definitions for "Cognitive Walkthrough"
A cognitive walkthrough is a review technique where you construct task scenarios from a specification and get a user to role play the part of walking through the task. They act as if the interface was actually built and they (in the role of a typical user) was working through the tasks. Each step the user would take is scrutinize.
an expert critique of a user interface that involves simulating the use of a system and analyzing possible problems in goal selection, planning, or action execution
Designers of the web site or product try to predict users' movements and actions by doing actual tasks themselves