Heuristic Evaluation (EH)

The main goal of this evaluation is to is to identify any problems associated with the design and usability of the interface (UI) on digital products. It consists in a technical analysis and inspection following a list of 10 principles proposed by Jacob Nielsen that try to identify opportunities to optimize the usability of the product.

This Medium Story presents the 10 principles, with brief explanation and an example of a good or bad practice of each one.

1. Visibility of system status

The system should always maintain the users informed about current state and actions through appropriate visual cues and feedback within reasonable time.

A good example of a correct use of this are the breadcrumbs, titles and subtitles within a webpage, or crossing the sizes that are not available anymore in an e-commerce webpage.

❌ This is a bad practice of this principle, since once you enter to see an specific ad of a flat, you loose all the information on where is the flat, and the rest of filters of your initial search.

2. Match between system and the real world
The system should speak he users’ language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.

For example, iBook on iPad uses the image of a wooden bookshelf to present the library of the user.

✅ A good practice is the use of symbols and icons to represent and describe the process and make the user identify each step easily.

3. User control and freedom
The users must feel that they have control inside of the website in every moment. They should be able to navigate freely, easily find exits, alternative routes, do Undo/Redo (back/forward), etc.

❌ Bad practice of this principle since it doesn´t let you keep navigating even if the user clicks in any other part of the page and it is obligued to unlock the Ad-Block..

4. Consistency and standards

Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.

❌ In this airline´s online platform you can identify a bad practice since its their best point of sales. The user has not finished the buying process yet and the platform presents different products and additional services that make the user feel lost and distracted.

5. Error Prevention
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action

❌ In this case it is a bad practice since the CTA has a color that calls more the attention of the user and gets off importance of the rest of the process to subscribe. The user tends to click directly expecting an external web or pop-up will appear to introduce the information required. Also, if you introduce wrongly the information or miss any of the check box it lets you know an error at a time, so just subscribing to a newsletter is a long and complicated process.

6. Recognition rather than recall
Minimize the user’s memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.

✅ This is a good practice since the user has the information or “Plan of the trip” always visible during the whole buying process.

7. Flexibility and efficiency of use:
Accelerators — unseen by the novice user — may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.

✅ This is an excellent practice of a real state browser since it allows the user draw by himself the exact area where he is looking for a flat/home to rent/buy.

8. Aesthetic and minimalist design

Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.

❌ This is a bad practice since in just one page the user haves too many information for being able to process; it is difficult even to decide where to start looking.

9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors

Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.

❌ Even if it is a very creative and fun way to present the Error page (it actually works as a .gif) the user doesn´t have any alternatives to keep navigating after the error and feels forced to press the “back” button.

10. Help and Documentation:
Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user’s task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.

❌ This is a bad practice for the user that needs to contact immediately the customer service of what he is looking for. It just gives a space for leaving a message but the user feels not heard and with doubt on when is he/she is going to be contacted and the problem can´t be solved immediately.

Exercise:

Trying to improve the bad practice in the website Error 404 page presented in the principle #9 , Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors, here is a more friendly version where the user receives alternatives and solutions after the Error message adding CTAs to the most informative and interesting parts of the website.

http://www.thefeebles.com/not-found