# Heuristic Evaluation

> Evaluate interfaces against established usability heuristics to find issues quickly without a full user study. Use when auditing existing products, reviewing competitor UX, or prioritizing usability fixes with limited research time.

- Skill: `itsual/heuristic-evaluation` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add itsual/heuristic-evaluation`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/itsual/heuristic-evaluation/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Research & Search
- Author: itsual (https://skillmd.com/u/itsual)
- Updated: 2026-09-21
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/itsual/heuristic-evaluation

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# Heuristic Evaluation

## Overview

Heuristic evaluation is an expert review method using principles (e.g., Nielsen’s heuristics) to identify usability problems efficiently.

## When to Use

- Quick usability audits of live products or prototypes
- Competitor experience reviews
- Prioritizing a backlog of UX debt
- Supplementing (not replacing) user research

## Common Heuristics (Nielsen)

1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and 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

## Principles

- Use multiple evaluators when possible and merge findings
- Rate severity to support prioritization
- Be specific — cite the screen, element, and heuristic violated
- Pair with user data when stakes are high

## Verification

- [ ] Issues are tied to specific heuristics and evidence
- [ ] Severity ratings support prioritization
- [ ] Findings are actionable for design/engineering