Heuristic Evaluation

What is Heuristic Evaluation?

Heuristic Evaluation is a usability assessment method for products, in which a group of experts (typically UX designers or usability experts) evaluates the interface and user experience of the product based on a set of widely recognized design principles – known as heuristics.

In the field of UX/UI, the most famous heuristics are the 10 usability principles of Jakob Nielsen, one of the leading researchers at the Nielsen Norman Group. These principles include factors such as: visibility of system status, match between system and real world, user control and freedom, and error prevention, etc.

The goal of heuristic evaluation is to quickly identify usability issues before the product is delivered to actual users, helping to save time and costs compared to more complex research methods like user testing.

Real-world example:

Suppose you are designing a flight booking application. When conducting a heuristic evaluation, an expert notices that after the user selects a flight and moves to the payment screen, the system does not display processing status or clear confirmation (violating the principle of "visibility of system status"). The user may think that the app is frozen or has an error. This is a serious issue but can easily be overlooked if solely relying on the internal team's intuition.

Advantages:

• Quick and cost-effective.

• Can be conducted at any stage of the design process, even if the prototype is not complete.

• Highly effective if combined with experienced experts who understand the user context.

Limitations:

• Prone to bias if only one evaluator is involved.

• Does not completely replace actual testing with users.

In summary, heuristic evaluation is a powerful tool that helps UX/UI designers identify issues early, improving user experience from the start – before the product is widely used.