Heuristic Evaluation (Nielsen's 10 Principles)
Overview
Heuristic evaluation is an expert review method that assesses a user interface against established usability principles. It's fast (2-4 hours), cheap (no user recruitment), and finds 40-60% of usability issues. Use it as a complement to, not replacement for, user testing.
Framework
IRON LAW: Every Violation Gets a Severity Rating
Finding a violation is half the work. Rating its severity is the other half.
A cosmetic inconsistency and a critical workflow blocker are both "violations"
but require completely different response urgency.
0 = Not a usability problem
1 = Cosmetic only — fix if time permits
2 = Minor — low priority
3 = Major — important to fix, high priority
4 = Catastrophe — must fix before release
Nielsen's 10 Heuristics
| # |
Heuristic |
Question to Ask |
| 1 |
Visibility of system status |
Does the user always know what's happening? (loading indicators, progress bars, confirmations) |
| 2 |
Match between system and real world |
Does it use the user's language, not system jargon? Are conventions familiar? |
| 3 |
User control and freedom |
Can users undo, redo, go back, cancel? Is there an emergency exit? |
| 4 |
Consistency and standards |
Are the same actions/words used consistently? Does it follow platform conventions? |
| 5 |
Error prevention |
Does the design prevent errors before they happen? (confirmations, constraints, defaults) |
| 6 |
Recognition rather than recall |
Are options visible? Can users recognize rather than remember? |
| 7 |
Flexibility and efficiency of use |
Are there shortcuts for experts? Can users customize frequent actions? |
| 8 |
Aesthetic and minimalist design |
Is every element necessary? Does extra information compete with relevant info? |
| 9 |
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors |
Are error messages helpful? Do they explain what went wrong and how to fix it? |
| 10 |
Help and documentation |
Is help available? Is it searchable, task-oriented, and concise? |
Evaluation Process
- Define scope: Which screens/flows to evaluate
- Walk through the interface 2-3 times with different user tasks
- Flag violations: Note each violation with heuristic #, location, description
- Rate severity: 0-4 scale for each violation
- Prioritize: Fix severity 4 and 3 first
- Report: Organize findings by severity, not by heuristic number
Output Format
# Heuristic Evaluation: {Product/Feature}
## Summary
- Total violations found: {N}
- Severity 4 (catastrophe): {N}
- Severity 3 (major): {N}
- Severity 2 (minor): {N}
- Severity 1 (cosmetic): {N}
## Critical Issues (Severity 3-4)
| # | Location | Heuristic | Issue | Severity | Recommendation |
|---|----------|-----------|-------|----------|---------------|
| 1 | {screen/element} | {#N: name} | {description} | 3/4 | {fix} |
## Other Issues (Severity 1-2)
| # | Location | Heuristic | Issue | Severity |
|---|----------|-----------|-------|----------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Examples
Correct Application
Scenario: Evaluating a food delivery app checkout flow
| Location |
Heuristic |
Issue |
Severity |
| Cart page |
#1 Visibility |
No loading indicator when adding items — user taps multiple times |
3 |
| Payment |
#5 Error prevention |
No confirmation before placing order — accidental orders happen |
4 |
| Error screen |
#9 Error recovery |
"Error 500" with no explanation or retry button |
4 |
| Address form |
#6 Recognition |
User must type full address instead of selecting from saved addresses |
2 |
Priority: Fix #5 and #9 immediately (severity 4) ✓
Incorrect Application
- "The app looks ugly" → Not a heuristic violation. "Aesthetic and minimalist design" (#8) is about information hierarchy, not visual attractiveness. A specific violation would be: "Product page shows 15 data fields simultaneously, burying the price and 'Add to Cart' button."
Gotchas
- 3-5 evaluators find 75% of issues: One evaluator finds ~35%. Diminishing returns after 5. If possible, have multiple evaluators work independently then merge findings.
- Heuristic evaluation finds problems, not solutions: It tells you what's wrong, not how to fix it. Solution design is a separate step.
- Not a substitute for user testing: Experts predict user behavior imperfectly. Some "violations" that experts flag don't bother real users, and some real problems experts miss.
- Mobile vs desktop: Apply heuristics separately for each platform. Touch targets, screen real estate, and interaction patterns differ significantly.
- Accessibility is not a heuristic: Nielsen's 10 don't explicitly cover accessibility (color contrast, screen reader support, keyboard navigation). Add WCAG checks separately.
References
- For WCAG accessibility checklist, see
references/wcag-checklist.md
1---2name: ux-heuristic3description: "Conduct heuristic evaluation of user interfaces using Nielsen's 10 usability principles. Use this skill when the user needs to audit a website, app, or interface for usability issues, prioritize UX improvements, or conduct a quick expert review without user testing — even if they say 'review this UI', 'find usability problems', or 'why do users struggle with our app'.".4---56# Heuristic Evaluation (Nielsen's 10 Principles)78## Overview910Heuristic evaluation is an expert review method that assesses a user interface against established usability principles. It's fast (2-4 hours), cheap (no user recruitment), and finds 40-60% of usability issues. Use it as a complement to, not replacement for, user testing.1112## Framework1314```15IRON LAW: Every Violation Gets a Severity Rating1617Finding a violation is half the work. Rating its severity is the other half.18A cosmetic inconsistency and a critical workflow blocker are both "violations"19but require completely different response urgency.20210 = Not a usability problem221 = Cosmetic only — fix if time permits232 = Minor — low priority243 = Major — important to fix, high priority254 = Catastrophe — must fix before release26```2728### Nielsen's 10 Heuristics2930| # | Heuristic | Question to Ask |31|---|-----------|----------------|32| 1 | **Visibility of system status** | Does the user always know what's happening? (loading indicators, progress bars, confirmations) |33| 2 | **Match between system and real world** | Does it use the user's language, not system jargon? Are conventions familiar? |34| 3 | **User control and freedom** | Can users undo, redo, go back, cancel? Is there an emergency exit? |35| 4 | **Consistency and standards** | Are the same actions/words used consistently? Does it follow platform conventions? |36| 5 | **Error prevention** | Does the design prevent errors before they happen? (confirmations, constraints, defaults) |37| 6 | **Recognition rather than recall** | Are options visible? Can users recognize rather than remember? |38| 7 | **Flexibility and efficiency of use** | Are there shortcuts for experts? Can users customize frequent actions? |39| 8 | **Aesthetic and minimalist design** | Is every element necessary? Does extra information compete with relevant info? |40| 9 | **Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors** | Are error messages helpful? Do they explain what went wrong and how to fix it? |41| 10 | **Help and documentation** | Is help available? Is it searchable, task-oriented, and concise? |4243### Evaluation Process44451. **Define scope**: Which screens/flows to evaluate462. **Walk through** the interface 2-3 times with different user tasks473. **Flag violations**: Note each violation with heuristic #, location, description484. **Rate severity**: 0-4 scale for each violation495. **Prioritize**: Fix severity 4 and 3 first506. **Report**: Organize findings by severity, not by heuristic number5152## Output Format5354```markdown55# Heuristic Evaluation: {Product/Feature}5657## Summary58- Total violations found: {N}59- Severity 4 (catastrophe): {N}60- Severity 3 (major): {N}61- Severity 2 (minor): {N}62- Severity 1 (cosmetic): {N}6364## Critical Issues (Severity 3-4)65| # | Location | Heuristic | Issue | Severity | Recommendation |66|---|----------|-----------|-------|----------|---------------|67| 1 | {screen/element} | {#N: name} | {description} | 3/4 | {fix} |6869## Other Issues (Severity 1-2)70| # | Location | Heuristic | Issue | Severity |71|---|----------|-----------|-------|----------|72| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |73```7475## Examples7677### Correct Application78**Scenario:** Evaluating a food delivery app checkout flow7980| Location | Heuristic | Issue | Severity |81|----------|-----------|-------|----------|82| Cart page | #1 Visibility | No loading indicator when adding items — user taps multiple times | 3 |83| Payment | #5 Error prevention | No confirmation before placing order — accidental orders happen | 4 |84| Error screen | #9 Error recovery | "Error 500" with no explanation or retry button | 4 |85| Address form | #6 Recognition | User must type full address instead of selecting from saved addresses | 2 |8687Priority: Fix #5 and #9 immediately (severity 4) ✓8889### Incorrect Application90- "The app looks ugly" → Not a heuristic violation. "Aesthetic and minimalist design" (#8) is about information hierarchy, not visual attractiveness. A specific violation would be: "Product page shows 15 data fields simultaneously, burying the price and 'Add to Cart' button."9192## Gotchas9394- **3-5 evaluators find 75% of issues**: One evaluator finds ~35%. Diminishing returns after 5. If possible, have multiple evaluators work independently then merge findings.95- **Heuristic evaluation finds problems, not solutions**: It tells you what's wrong, not how to fix it. Solution design is a separate step.96- **Not a substitute for user testing**: Experts predict user behavior imperfectly. Some "violations" that experts flag don't bother real users, and some real problems experts miss.97- **Mobile vs desktop**: Apply heuristics separately for each platform. Touch targets, screen real estate, and interaction patterns differ significantly.98- **Accessibility is not a heuristic**: Nielsen's 10 don't explicitly cover accessibility (color contrast, screen reader support, keyboard navigation). Add WCAG checks separately.99100## References101102- For WCAG accessibility checklist, see `references/wcag-checklist.md`
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