UX Heuristics

UX Heuristics

Use this skill before shipping features to catch usability problems early.

What this skill does

This skill reviews an interface against:

• Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics
• Krug's clarity-first usability principles

It outputs issues with severity, rationale, and practical fixes.

Best triggers

Activate for requests like:

• "audit this for usability"
• "heuristic review"
• "UX issues"
• "pre-ship UX check"

Severity scale

• 0 No issue
• 1 Cosmetic
• 2 Minor usability issue
• 3 Major usability issue
• 4 Usability blocker

Audit process

1. Define core tasks users must complete.
2. Walk each task step by step.
3. Evaluate each step using the heuristics:
   • Visibility of system status
   • Match between system and real world
   • User control and freedom
   • Consistency and standards
   • Error prevention
   • Recognition rather than recall
   • Flexibility and efficiency
   • Aesthetic and minimalist design
   • Error recovery help
   • Help and documentation
4. Add Krug checks:
   • Is the next action obvious?
   • Is wording clear at a glance?
   • Is interaction effort low?
5. Score each issue by severity and user impact.
6. Recommend fixes in priority order.

Output format

For each issue, provide:

• Issue
• Heuristic violated
• Severity (0-4)
• Why this hurts users
• Recommended fix

End with:

• Top 3 risks to release quality
• Must-fix before ship list
• Nice-to-have improvements

Guardrails

• Tie every issue to a specific user task.
• Prefer simple fixes that reduce cognitive load.
• Flag blockers and accessibility concerns first.