Heuristic evaluation

What is a Heuristic Evaluation?

A heuristic evaluation is a usability inspection in which evaluators examine an interface against broad design principles. They identify potential problems without asking users to perform tasks during the inspection.

How heuristic evaluation works

Evaluators can review the interface independently, record the problems they find, and then combine their observations. Different reviewers may notice different issues.

A common reference is Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics:

1. Visibility of system status.
2. Match between the system and the real world.
3. User control and freedom.
4. Consistency and standards.
5. Error prevention.
6. Recognition rather than recall.
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use.
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design.
9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors.
10. Help and documentation.

A heuristic evaluation example

Imagine reviewing an employee onboarding portal. A submitted form cannot be corrected, a loading screen gives no progress feedback, and two buttons with the same label perform different actions. Reviewers can connect these issues to user control, system status, and consistency, then describe the task each issue could disrupt.

Heuristic evaluation versus usability testing

An inspection can identify plausible problems quickly. Usability testing lets you observe what people actually do. The methods answer different questions and can complement each other.

A violation of a principle is a reason to investigate, not a measurement of how much trouble users have. Prioritize findings by the workflow and consequences, then check whether the proposed change helps.