Article
Heuristic Evaluation - a Step By Step Guide
4. Conducting the Evaluation
Conduct the evaluation using either of these methods:
- Individual Evaluation - each evaluator reviews the interface individually and reports problems to you. Individual evaluation is easily conducted over the Internet. It will pick up more problems than group evaluation, but takes a lot more time to complete.
- Group Evaluation - evaluators review the interface as a team, while you record the problems. Evaluators do not have to agree on a problem - but every issue they identify should be recorded. Group evaluation requires more planning than does individual evaluation, as all evaluators need to be assembled, however, the evaluation need only be conducted once as all the evaluators can complete their tasks at the same time.
The most basic form of evaluation is to choose a random page from your site and see if your evaluators can:
- tell where they are
- tell what they can/should do next
5. Analysing your Results
Once your evaluators have:
- worked their way through the tasks or goals you set,
- evaluated each of these in light of the ten heuristics, and
- provided their feedback,
you'll need to compile all the information. Remove any duplicates and combine similar issues. What's left will be a set of problems or comments that you can address to improve your site's usability.
Remember the Golden Rule!
The golden rule of usability is:
There's no such thing as a "user error"!
Make sure you clarify every problem your evaluators identify - ask questions so that you understand the specific nature of the difficulties they encountered. And remember:
- don't argue with your evaluators,
- don't try to "explain away" problems they identified
If an evaluator found an aspect of your site confusing, then it's more than likely that your Website visitors might have problems with it too.
More Information
Why You Only Need to Test with 5 Users
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html
(Accessed June 2001)
Introduction to Usability
http://www.usabilityfirst.com/intro/index.txl
(Accessed June 2001)
Heuristic Evaluation System Checklist
http://www.stcsig.org/usability/topics/articles/he-checklist.html
(Accessed June 2001)