Heuristic Eval Beads

Run a Heuristic Evaluation on the current prototype, then create Beads issues from the findings so they become trackable tasks.

This is an add-on to heuristic-eval. Run the full evaluation first, produce the complete artifact, then pipe findings into Beads.

Phase 1: Run the Heuristic Evaluation

Run a heuristic evaluation for this scope:

$ARGUMENTS

Use ultrathink. Use the actual prototype, repo, screenshots, routes, components, and docs. Do not give generic advice. Anchor every issue to a real part of the system where possible.

Output

Write docs/hci/heuristic-evaluation.md unless the user asked for another path. Create the directory if it does not exist.

Heuristics to apply

1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between 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

Required output table

| ID | Heuristic | Screen/flow/component | Evidence | Why it matters | Severity (0-4) | Recommendation |

Severity rubric

• 0 = not a problem
• 1 = cosmetic / low priority
• 2 = minor usability issue
• 3 = major usability issue
• 4 = severe / likely to block or mislead users

Required synthesis

End with:

• top 5 highest-severity problems
• quickest wins
• structural issues that need redesign rather than visual tweaks

Note: if a consistency-audit artifact exists for this scope, reference it for heuristic #4 rather than re-auditing consistency in full. Apply heuristic #4 only to findings not already covered.

Deliverable style

• Clear headings
• Markdown tables
• Mermaid diagrams where useful
• Direct language
• No filler

Phase 2: Beads Integration

Step 1 -- Detect Beads

Check if the bd CLI is available:

command -v bd

If bd is not found: Stop here. Output the Heuristic Evaluation only, and append:

## Beads Integration: Skipped

`bd` CLI not found. To install Beads and create trackable issues from this review:

  pip install beads-cli
  # or see https://github.com/steveyegge/beads

Then re-run: /heuristic-eval-beads

If bd is found: Continue to Step 2.

Step 2 -- Initialize Beads (if needed)

Check if the repo is already initialized:

bd ready --json

If that fails (no .beads/ directory, not initialized):

bd init --stealth

Use --stealth so Beads metadata is not committed to the main repo.

Step 3 -- Create parent issue

Create one parent issue to group all findings from this evaluation:

bd create "Heuristic Evaluation: <branch> — <scope>" -p 1 --json

Capture the parent issue ID from the JSON output. Store scope and summary:

bd update <parent-id> --description "<1-2 sentence scope summary>" --acceptance "<quality bar from the review>" --notes "Review date: <today>. Scope: <arguments>."

Step 4 -- Create child issues per finding

For each Nielsen heuristic violation found with severity 0-4:

MAJOR findings -- always create:

Severity 3-4 heuristic violations:

bd create "[MAJOR] <finding-title>" -p 0 --json

MINOR findings -- create only if the user passed --include-minor. Otherwise skip and note them in the output.

Severity 1-2 heuristic violations:

bd create "[MINOR] <finding-title>" -p 2 --json

For each created issue, update with structured fields (do NOT use bd edit):

bd update <child-id> --description "<what/why + evidence>" --notes "<location and context>" --acceptance "<fix recommendation or verification>"

Then link child to parent:

bd dep add <child-id> <parent-id>

Step 5 -- Show next actions

bd ready --json

Output

Return a combined report with two sections:

Section A: Heuristic Evaluation

1. Issues table (ID, heuristic, location, evidence, severity, recommendation)
2. Top 5 highest-severity problems
3. Quickest wins
4. Structural issues needing redesign

Section B: Beads Integration Summary

1. Status: initialized | already-initialized | skipped (with reason)
2. Parent bead: <id> -- <title>
3. Created beads: table of Bead ID | Severity | Finding Title | Priority
4. Skipped findings: list with reasons (e.g., "MINOR, --include-minor not set")
5. Next actions: output of bd ready --json