Heuristic evaluation

A heuristic evaluation is a method for assessing a site’s usability. It determines whether a website is user-friendly or not. Unlike user testing, which involves consumers evaluating the site (or prototype), heuristic evaluation involves usability specialists evaluating the site. That’s why it’s often referred to as an “expert review.”

A web or mobile site heuristic evaluation or expert review is based on a set of established principles or qualitative parameters. Although there are more than two dozen criteria by which a site can be evaluated, many professional queries are based on usability heuristics such as:

Awareness of system status:

The system ought to continually keep users abreast of what is going on by providing suitable feedback in a timely manner.

Matching the system to the actual world:

The system should speak the users’ language, using words, ideas, and concepts known to the user rather than system-oriented jargon.

User control and freedom:

Users frequently select system functions by accident, necessitating the use of a clearly marked “emergency exit” to quit the undesirable condition without having to go through extensive dialogue. Undo and redo are encouraged.

Users should not have to question whether different words, contexts, or actions mean the same thing. Observe platform conventions.

Error prevention:

A thorough design that prevents a problem from developing in the first place is even better than effective error messages. Eliminate error-prone situations, or check for them, and give users a confirmation choice before committing to an action.

Reduce the user’s memory load by making items, actions, and options visible rather than recalling them. The user should not have to recall information from one section of the chat to the next. When applicable, system instructions should be visible or easily accessible.

Flexibility and efficiency of use:

Unseen by the beginner user, accelerators may often speed up the interaction for the expert user, allowing the system to cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to customize frequently performed tasks.

Aesthetic and simple design:

Dialogues should not include material that is irrelevant or only occasionally required. Every additional unit of information in a conversation competes with the relevant pieces of information, reducing their relative exposure.

Error notifications should be provided in clear language (no codes), precisely explain the problem, and constructively suggest a solution to help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from mistakes.

Help and documentation:

Although it is preferable if the system may be operated without documentation, help and documentation may be required. Any such material should be simple to find, focused on the user’s task, including concrete steps to take, and not be too extensive.

Using these established principles for best-usability practices, one can create his or her own set of review questions or find some that have already been created and modify them to one’s satisfaction.