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Background

Heuristic evaluation is a method of user testing, which enables a product to be assessed in order to identify usability problems – that is, places where the product is not easy to use. It is a discount (“quick and dirty”) method, which means that it is cheap and requires relatively little expertise.

What’s Involved In Heuristic Evaluation?

In this technique, a number of evaluators are first introduced to the heuristics, then given some tasks to complete and invited to report the problems – where the system fails to comply with the heuristics – either verbally or in some form of written report or checklist. Unlike many forms of usability testing, the evaluators do not have to be representative of the system’s expected users (although they can be!), nor do the evaluators have to be experts, as the heuristics can be read and understood in a few minutes. Just three to five evaluators are needed to find the majority of usability problems, so the technique is quite efficient and inexpensive.

The problems found in heuristic evaluation essentially represent subjective opinions about the system. Evaluators will frequently disagree (there are no absolute right or wrong answers) but these opinions are useful input to be considered in interface design.

What Heuristics Should I Use?

There are several sets of possible heuristics available on the Web and elsewhere. This reflects the fact that they are “rules of thumb”, designed to pick out as many flaws as possible, and various sets of usability evaluators have found different formalisations to be most useful for their needs, e.g. [1]. Probably the most commonly used is Nielsen’s set of ten usability heuristics [2] given below with a sample question after each one:

• Visibility of system status: Does the system give timely & appropriate feedback?
• Match between system and the real world: Is it speaking the users’ language?
• User control and freedom: How hard is it to undo unwanted actions?
• Consistency and standards: Does it follow conventions and expectations?
• Error prevention: Are potential errors recognised before becoming a problem?
• Recognition rather than recall: Does the system rely on the users’ memory?
• Aesthetic & minimalist design: Are dialogs cluttered with information?
• Help users recognise, diagnose & recover from errors: Are error messages useful?
• Help and documentation: Is there online help? Is it useful?

An excellent resource to help you choose a set of heuristics is the Interactive Heuristic Evaluation Toolkit [3] which offers heuristics tailored to your expected user group, type of device, and class of application.

When Should Heuristic Evaluation Be Carried Out?

As heuristic evaluation is simple and cheap, it is possible to use it to quickly test the usability of a web site at any stage in its development. Waiting until a fully functional prototype Web site exists is not necessary; interface ideas can be sketched out onto paper or mocked up using graphics software or Flash. These mockups can be tested before any actual development takes place.

Most projects will benefit from a user-centred design process, an approach that focuses on supporting every stage of the development process with user-centred activities. It is advisable to test early and often, in order to ensure that potential problems with a design are caught early enough that they can be solved cheaply. However, even web sites that are already active can benefit from usability testing, since many such problems are easily solved, but some problems are difficult or expensive to solve at a late stage.

Conclusions

If a developing design is tested frequently, most usability problems can be found and solved at an early stage. Heuristic evaluation is a simple and cheap technique that finds the majority of usability problems. An existing Web site or application will often benefit from usability testing, but testing early and often provides the best results. Finally, it is useful to alternate use of heuristic evaluation with use of other methods of usability testing, such as user testing, since the two techniques often reveal different sets of usability problems.

References

1. Heuristic Evaluation – A System Checklist, Deniese Pierotti, Xerox Corp.
   <http://www.stcsig.org/usability/topics/articles/he-checklist.html>
2. Heuristic Evaluation, Jakob Nielsen,
   <http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/>
3. Interactive Heuristic Evaluation Toolkit,
   <http://www.id-book.com/catherb/>

Further Information

• Ten Usability Heuristics, Jakob Nielsen,
  <http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html>
• Getting Started With User Centred Design, UsabilityNet,
  <http://www.usabilitynet.org/tools/gettingstarted.htm>

Filed under: Usability