Heuristic evaluation

A heuristic evaluation is a discount usability inspection method for computer software that helps to identify usability problems in the user interface (UI) design. It specifically involves evaluators examining the interface and judging its compliance with recognized usability principles (the "heuristics"). These evaluation methods are now widely taught and practiced in the New Media sector, where UIs are often designed in a short space of time on a budget that may restrict the amount of money available to provide for other types of interface testing.

Introduction

The main goal of heuristic evaluations is to identify any problems associated with the design of user interfaces. Usability consultant Jakob Nielsen developed this method on the basis of several years of experience in teaching and consulting about usability engineering.

Heuristic evaluations are one of the most informal methodsNielsen, J., and Molich, R. (1990). Heuristic evaluation of user interfaces, Proc. ACM CHI'90 Conf. (Seattle, WA, 1-5 April), 249-256] of usability inspection in the field of human-computer interaction. There are many sets of usability design heuristics; they are not mutually exclusive and cover many of the same aspects of interface design.

Quite often, usability problems that are discovered are categorized—often on a numeric scale—according to their estimated impact on user performance or acceptance. Often the heuristic evaluation is conducted in the context of use cases (typical user tasks), to provide feedback to the developers on the extent to which the interface is likely to be compatible with the intended users’ needs and preferences.

Most heuristic evaluations can be accomplished in a matter of days. The time required varies with the size of the artifact, its complexity, the purpose of the review, the nature of the usability issues that arise in the review, and the competence of the reviewers.

A criticism that is often leveled at heuristic methods of evaluation is that results are highly influenced by the knowledge of the expert reviewer(s).

Nielsen's heuristics

Jakob Nielsen's heuristics are probably the most used usability heuristics for user interface design. Nielsen developed the heuristics based on work together with Rolf Molich in 1990. [Molich, R., and Nielsen, J. (1990). Improving a human-computer dialogue, Communications of the ACM 33, 3 (March), 338-348] The final set of heuristics that are still used today were released by Nielsen in 1994. [Nielsen, J. (1994). Heuristic evaluation. In Nielsen, J., and Mack, R.L. (Eds.), Usability Inspection Methods, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY] The heuristics as published in Nielsen's book "Usability Engineering" are as follows [cite book
last = Nielsen
first = Jakob
authorlink = Jakob_Nielsen_%28usability_consultant%29
title = Usability Engineering
publisher = Academic Press
date = 1994
location = San Diego
pages = 115-148
isbn = 0-12-518406-9] with the refined version as published on Nielsen's website in parentheses: [Jacob Nielsen, Heuristics for User Interface Design, http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html, referenced January 5th 2008]

* Simple and natural dialogue (Aesthetic and minimalist design)
* Speak the user's language (Match between system and the real world)
* Minimize user memory load (Recognition rather than recall)
* Consistency (Consistency and standards)
* Feedback (Visibility of system status)
* Clearly marked exits (User control and freedom)
* Shortcuts (Flexibility and efficiency of use)
* Good error messages (Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors)
* Prevent errors (Error prevention)
* Help and Documentation (Help and documentation)

External links

* [http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/ Jakob Nielsen's introduction to Heuristic Evaluation] - Including fundamental points, methodologies and benefits.
* [http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html Alternate First Principles (Tognazzini)] - Including Jakob Nielsen's ten rules of thumb
* [http://www.usability.gov/methods/heuristiceval.html Heuristic Evaluation at Usability.gov]

References

Further reading

* Dix, A., Finlay, J., Abowd, G., D., & Beale, R. (2004). Human-computer interaction (3rd ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson Education Limited. p324
* Nielsen, J. and Mack, R.L. (Eds) (1994). Usability Inspection Methods, John Wiley & Sons Inc

See also

* Usability inspection