What in the world is Heuristic (hyu |.| ri |.| stuhk) Evaluation?
These are usability inspection method(s) for computer software to help identify usability problems in the user interface (UI) design, specifically involving examining the interface and judging its compliance with recognized usability principles (A.K.A The “heuristics”).
Now, since these are method(s) — How many are these?
You guessed it right; it’s definitely MORE than 1 !
There are 10 “ rules of thumb”. These ‘rules of the thumb’ were derived after careful research by Nielsen who after conducting an analysis of 249 usability problems, came up with ten simply stated guidelines in 1994.
Now, Lets start understanding what they are!!
Rule 1 — Visibility of system status
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
Ever tried re-checking your charger when your phone’s led indicator did not light up? Or tried connecting your beard trimmer and checked if the light on the charger was glowing?
These are all perfect examples of how visibility of the “current system status” leads to an improved User Experience.
Rule 2 — Match between system and the real world
The system should speak the 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.
Imagine, you got a website and enter some words to search. The search fails and the error message says — “ The query you entered is Sesquipedalian. Please ensure they are Bitty”!
Now, I am sure you googled what those words are and wasted time. It was already hard on the user that his results did not appear. The system made it worse with the cryptic error message.
All that the error had to say was — “ The query you entered is too long. Please ensure they are smaller”. Ensure that the user does not feel lost when your system tries to talk back to him. After all; it’s User-Interaction!
Keep watching this space for the remaining 8 Nielsen’s Heuristic Evaluation Principles.
