Ten Principles of Usability Testing Heuristic Evaluation in Singapore

3 min readJan 25, 2018

Heuristic evaluation is one of the normally used usability testing methods. In a heuristic evaluation, usability experts review your site’s interface and compare it against accepted usability principles. The analysis results in a list of potential usability issues.

Nielsen’s Heuristics

Though many groups have developed heuristics, one of the best-known sources is the set developed by Nielsen’s in 1994. Nielsen refined the list originally developed in 1990 by himself and Rolf Molich. Nielsen’s Heuristics include:

01 System Status Visualization

The system should always be able to timely feedback through the appropriate, let the user informed of the current state of the system.

02 System interface should be consistent with the practice of the real world

Instead of using system-based terminology, the system should use the user’s language, user-familiar sentences, paragraphs, and concepts. Follow everyday routines to make the presented information natural and logical.

03 Allows users to control the freedom

Users often mistakenly execute a certain function of the system. In this case, a significant “emergency exit” operation is required, so that the user can prevent the system from continuing to perform user misuse even before the unexpected result is obtained. In addition, the system should support “undo operations” and “redo”.

04 Follow the unity and standardization

The same thing the system should not use different statements, states and operations that make users wonder. Generally should follow the system platform conventions.

05 Prevent user error

Should prevent the mistake from happening at the very beginning, the wrong message afterwards is not as good as this unprotected design. Consider setting certain conditions to prevent users from making errors or to help users check for confirmation before they choose to submit an action.

06 Identify better than memories

Through the visualization of objects, operations and choices, the user’s memory burden is minimized. In continuous operation, the user should not be forced to remember certain information. The instructions for use of the system should be significant or should be readily available when appropriate.

07 Using the efficiency and flexibility

Shortcuts (invisible to beginner users) — tend to increase the speed of operation for expert users, thus allowing the system to accommodate both beginner and expert users. Allow users to quickly customize those frequent operations.

08 Simple design

The operation should not contain irrelevant information and rarely used needs. Each additional piece of information competes with relevant information on the operation, thereby weakening the visibility of the primary piece of information.

09 Helps users identify, diagnose and fix errors

The error message should be expressed in plain language (non-code), correct in the description of the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.

10 Tips and help documentation

Even if the system can be used well by users without the help documentation, it is also necessary to provide help tips and documentation. This information should be easily searchable and integrated into the user’s tasks, listing specific steps, not bulky documents.