INTRODUCTION
A Heuristic Evaluation, or Usability
Audit, is an evaluation of an interface by one or more Human Factors experts.
Evaluators measure the usability, efficiency, and effectiveness of the
interface based on ten usability heuristics originally appointed by Jakob
Nielsen in 1994. Nielsen’s Usability Heuristics, which have continued to evolve
in response to user research and new devices.
A ‘heuristic’ is a general guideline or
conclusion that aids in an investigation or analysis of something. A Heuristic
Evaluation in usability, therefore, is when a group of usability experts
evaluate your site’s usability against a list of accepted guidelines and
commonly accepted principles.
A usability evaluation method which one
or more reviewers, preferably experts, compare a software, documentation, or
hardware product to a list of design principles (commonly referred to as
heuristics) and identify where the product does not follow those principles.
For make research about Heuristic
Evaluation, the student have choose one website and evaluate the website to
identify any problem that is related with the heuristic rules. The student also
have gave the solution to overcome the problem.
USABILITY HEURISTIC EVALUATION
Ten
Heuristic Evaluation:
The student have already choose the
Digital Hospitality as website to evaluate the Heuristic Evaluation.
Url of website: http://www.digitalhospitality.com/
1)
Visibility of System Status
·
The
system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through
appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
·
Example
– If it takes a long time to load a screen, display a progress bar or an
estimate of the time it may take to load, so users know what to expect.
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.
·
Example
- When designing a website for children, use terms with which they are familiar
and display information in formats they are used to seeing.
3)
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 go to through an
extended dialogue. Support undo and redo.
·
Example
– Provide the functionality to Undo and Redo actions and to easily exit the
system.
4)
Consistency and Standards
·
Users
should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean
the same thing. Follow platform conventions.
·
Example
– Use icons with which people are familiar, rather than creating new designs
that mean the same thing.
5)
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.
·
Example
- If a user cancels her/his account, offer her/his a way to re-establish the
account within a certain time period.
6)
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.
·
Example
– On a web form, allow easy access to previously entered information, such as
serial numbers, so the user does not need to recall the information or write it
down.
7)
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.
·
Example
– An accelerator can be a keystroke shortcut, such as Macintosh’s Command+Q to
quit an application.
8)
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.
·
Example
– Background graphics can make viewing text difficult.
9)
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.
·
Example
– If the user enters an invalid email address on a web form that requests the
address, the error message could read, “That email address is not in our
records. Please enter an email address in this format: email@address.com.”
10)
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.
·
Example
– If there is not enough reason to produce an entire Help section, and there
are a couple form fields that may be confusing to some users, it is appropriate
to include “in-line help” in the form of a link that opens a small help
dialogue next to the form field. Alternatively, next to a form field text box
or field entering a phone number as xxx-xxx-xxxx.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To
overcome the problem from Heuristic Evaluation that have in the website, the
student have suggestion where that the designers of website must recognize the
benefits and limitations of different usability inspection methods. This is
because the quality of the usability evaluation is dependent on the method
used. There have two techniques that popular usability evaluation such as user
testing and heuristic analysis. The purpose from two techniques are to compare
the efficiency and effectiveness are user testing and heuristic analysis in the
website that student have already choose.
CONCLUSION
The
student have already knew and understand about the Heuristic Evaluation. It is
not should replace usability testing. Although the heuristics relate to
criteria that effect user’s usability, the issues identified in a Heuristic
Evaluation are different than those found in a usability test.
When
user use the Heuristic Evaluation, it can provide some quick and relatively
inexpensive feedback to designers. Besides that, user can obtain feedback early
in the design process and assigning the correct heuristic can help suggest the
best corrective measures to designers. In the other hand, user also can use it
together with other usability testing methodologies. Moreover, user can conduct
usability testing to further examine potential issues.
On
the contrary, Heuristic Evaluation requires knowledge and experience to apply
the heuristic effectively. It also trained usability experts are sometimes hard
to find and can be expensive. Moreover, users should use multiple experts and
aggregate their results. The evaluation may identify more minor issues and
fewer major issues.
REFERENCES
1.
Website
- http://www.digitalhospitality.com/
REFLECTION WRITTEN
From the Lab Task
1 that have already done, I have got many knowledge about Heuristic Evaluation
based on the website that have been chosen by each of student. Student require
to evaluate the website to identify any problems that is relate with the
heuristic rules. The student also have give the solution to overcome the
problems. I have already choose the Digital Hospitality as a website to
evaluate the Heuristic Evaluation. There have ten Heuristic Evaluation by Jakob
Nielsen in 1994.
EXPERIENCES AND FINDINGS
The experience that I have already got from this lab task is
I can know the Heuristic Evaluation. From zero it have been the hero for me to
get the knowledge about the Heuristic Evaluation. Besides that, I have learn to
make the different about the each of the heuristic. To complete this lab task
it take three hours where is to find and understand it before make the report. However,
it is very fun because I can related it with the source that I choose which is
the Digital Hospitality to related it with the Heuristic Evaluation.
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