A heuristic evaluation is an expert evaluation of a user interface using a predetermined list of guidelines. It is faster and less expensive than usability testing, but has weaknesses and should be used early in development. The evaluation is conducted by an expert using a checklist and scaling to indicate severity of problems. Heuristic evaluations have weaknesses, but are still useful and should be used early in the design process.
A heuristic evaluation is a process by which an expert evaluates a user interface or similar system using a list of guidelines. This is not the same as a user evaluation or usability test where users actually try out the interface. Instead, a predetermined list of commonly accepted features or aspects of a user interface as beneficial are used to evaluate the interface. A heuristic evaluation is typically faster and less expensive than a usability test, although it has weaknesses and should be used early in development.
There are several ways a heuristic evaluation can be conducted, but it typically begins with a list of criteria or characteristics expected of a robust user interface. This list can come from a variety of sources, although the first basic list was created by Jakob Nielsen and stipulates 10 major design elements that should be included in an interface. Different usability and design experts can make their own lists or use these 10 as a starting point for more detailed checklists. When this expert is called upon to perform a heuristic evaluation, he uses the checklist to consider the strengths and weaknesses of a system.
A heuristic evaluation is usually conducted by an expert in usability features and interface design, rather than actual test users. The expert examines the different elements of an interface and evaluates each part based on the checklist that she has created. This may include the use of “yes” or “no” answers to evaluate whether certain elements are present in the interface, as well as a numerical scale to indicate the severity of the problems or problems encountered in the heuristic evaluation. Scaling allows program developers to easily recognize the nature of a problem and quickly determine whether resources are available to fix it before the software is released.
One of the main weaknesses of a heuristic evaluation is that it applies common standards to different types of systems. A feature that might be required in one type of software might not be needed in another; while some features that might be considered poor design for some programs may actually be useful in others. However, many companies still use experts to perform a heuristic evaluation, as the process is faster and more cost-effective than long-term usability testing involving large groups of users. Heuristic evaluations are still useful, but should be used early in the design and development process so that the changes suggested by the evaluation can be considered before usability testing which often demonstrates the reality of interface usability.
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