Heuristic EvaluationMethod
Heuristic evaluation is a process where experts use rules of thumb to measure the usability of user interfaces in independent walkthroughs and report issues. Evaluators use established heuristics (rules of thumb) to reveal insight that can help design teams enhance product usability from early in development.
A heuristic evaluation should not replace usability testing. Although the heuristics relate to criteria that affect a site’s usability, the issues identified in a heuristic evaluation are not be as specific those found in a usability test with actual users.
Steps
- Recruit a group of three to five people familiar with evaluation methods. These people are not necessarily designers, but are familiar with common usability best practices. They are usually not users.
- Identify a shared set of “heuristics” or general usability best practices to evaluate the site or application against. Jakob Nielsen's "10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design" are a good place to start, though add, subtract, or adapt individual heuristics to your needs as appropriate.
- Ask each person to evaluate the website against their list and write down possible problems.
- After individual evaluations, gather people to discuss what they found and prioritize potential problems.
Outcomes
Heuristic Evaluation typically produces insight and solutions focused on these areas:
Navigation Effectiveness
A measure of how effective site or application navigation is relative to business and user goals.
Interface Usability
A measure of how easy and pleasant an interface is to use, relative to user and business goals.
Interface Accessibility
An assessment of the accessibility affordances of a product.
