Heuristics in Usability
Heuristics in Usability are simple guidelines to go by when reviewing or better yet, when designing a User Interface.
It would be nice to have a tool, even a simple checklist - but smarter and with more data collection capabilities.
For right now, here is a list of the most common heurisitics from recognized experts in the field.
Jakob Nielsen's heuristics
- Visibility of system status:
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
- 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.
- User control and freedom:
Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo.
- Consistency and standards:
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Gerhardt-Powals' cognitive engineering principles
- Automate unwanted workload:
- free cognitive resources for high-level tasks.
- eliminate mental calculations, estimations, comparisons, and unnecessary thinking.
- Reduce uncertainty:
- display data in a manner that is clear and obvious.
- Fuse data:
- reduce cognitive load by bringing together lower level data into a higher-level summation.
- Present new information with meaningful aids to interpretation:
- use a familiar framework, making it easier to absorb.
- use everyday terms, metaphors, etc.
- Use names that are conceptually related to function:
- Context-dependent.
- Attempt to improve recall and recognition.
- Group data in consistently meaningful ways to decrease search time.
- Limit data-driven tasks:
- Reduce the time spent assimilating raw data.
- Make appropriate use of color and graphics.
- Include in the displays only that information needed by the user at a given time.
- Provide multiple coding of data when appropriate.
- Practice judicious redundancy.[1]
A more detailed discussion of the topic can be found here: http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html at the Norman Nielsen Group website.