The language of heuristics

Adapting the language of Nielsen Norman’s usability heuristics for non-designers.

Most of our clients are not familiar with UX industry standards — and why would they be? They don’t have dedicated UX teams discussing the latest research or designers handing off detailed wireframes to their developers. So when they get to us they want to know how they can make their current products more usable. To answer this question, we conduct a usability audit (also called a heuristic evaluation) and then create a set of concrete recommendations based on industry standards.

We evaluate systems using Nielsen Norman’s Ten Usability Heuristics — and pair every recommendation with an appropriate heuristic. Here’s an example:

Heuristic: Match Between System and Real World

Recommendation: Use a red octagonal stop sign icon instead of the blue hand for this action

Tying the recommendation to a heuristic helped people see patterns, but we found they were getting tripped up by the jargon. ‘Match Between System and Real World’ may be clear for UX professionals, but not for stakeholders with other skillsets. Rather than hand out a list of “Today’s Hot 100 UX Terms,” we adapted the heuristics language to be more accessible. Using our list, the above example looks like this:

Heuristic: Use familiar language, visual cues, and flows

Recommendation: Use a red octagonal stop sign icon instead of the blue hand for this action

We found stakeholders were able to relate more to the friendlier language which produced more productive conversations and created more focus on the actual recommendations. We’ve been using the adapted list ever since! Here’s our complete list free of charge:

UX Best Practices

1. Communicate with users clearly and frequently

Use status indicators, notifications, and clear feedback to let people know what is happening as they interact with the product. Don’t make people guess what the system is doing or what will happen next.

2. Use familiar language, visual cues, and flows

Make sure the system operates the way your users expect — this means incorporating visuals, language, and ideas that they already understand and use. Present information in a familiar and logical order.

3. Let people recover from their mistake

People make mistakes, especially when they are in a hurry or using a product for the first time. Provide them with easy escapes and for minor errors such as typos, support undo.

4. Stay consistent

Consistency helps people set expectations and anticipate what will happen next. This helps establish trust with the system and increases task efficiency.

5. Prevent errors where possible

Even better than allowing users to recover from a mistake is preventing that error ahead of time. Use visual cues and helper text to let users know how buttons, selectors, and other elements will behave. Don’t allow people to take actions that aren’t useful.

6. Make actions and relevant information visible

Make primary actions and options visible so people don’t have to recall where they are. People aren’t experts and have other things on their mind —show them what they need to know when they need to know it.

7. Get experts where they want to go quickly

Support flexible workflows — novices and experts will use the system differently. Allow for customization where appropriate.

8. Keep it simple, minimal, and relevant

More information on a screen makes it difficult to distinguish what’s important. Respect people’s time and only offer relevant information throughout the system.

9. Communicate system errors directly and quickly

Use direct, plain error messaging to let people know what happened and point them to the solution.

10. Provide documentation and help when needed

While it’s preferable to design systems in a way that is understandable without extra documentation, it’s not always possible. Make sure help and documentation are discoverable, searchable, and that the language matches the language of the system with clear instructions.

Modified from: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/

Conclusion

Using this simplified list has increased our turn around time for deliverables without compromising our process. If you’re interested in reading more about how we conduct audits check out our article The Art of the Audit.