Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics & their importance
The word “heuristic” has a Greek origin and defines a method or process that aims to detect problems and inconsistencies and find solutions for them in a digital product.
Heuristic analysis, when done during the early stages of a project, can be very beneficial! Detecting errors early on will not only save time with future problems but will also benefit your pocketbook.
This analysis is an important step in the UX process, as it tests and evaluates the usability of a given project.
During the analysis, the strengths and weaknesses of a project are identified. From there, the team responsible for the heuristic method will study them and propose recommendations according to the findings for structuring a good user experience.
But there are also several ready-made heuristic analysis bases, some aimed at specific niches, while others can be much more comprehensive. For example, the most famous and used is that of Jakob Nielsen.
Nielsen’s Heuristics
Nielsen’s heuristics are 10 principles for evaluating the usability of website interfaces, created by computer scientist Jakob Nielsen in 1990. These principles define important points in the composition of interfaces and should be considered when creating layouts.
“Even the best designers produce successful products only if their designs solve the right problems. A wonderful interface to the wrong features will fail.” — Jakob Nielsen
Focusing on the design of digital interfaces, it’s interesting to think that the environment to be built will be a means of communication between a human being and a machine. If the interfaces are poorly designed, this communication will have noise, generating insecurity and even possible stress for the user, since hardly an interface designed only from the visual side will instruct them to perform their actions efficiently.
Thus, it is essential that the design in its entirety is considered before, during, and after the development of a project, bringing a simpler and clearer direction for the user about their tasks. To achieve this goal, Jakob Nielsen, a computer scientist renowned for web usability, developed some general evaluation principles for User Interface Design, called Nielsen’s Ten Heuristics. Today, they have become practical rules for all human-computer interaction and also serve as a basis to guide the steps of professionals involved in usability projects.
The 10 Heuristics:
The 10 heuristics illustrated in an infographic:
Conclusion
Nielsen’s Ten Heuristics make digital products and services less mechanical and more human. After all, applications, platforms, and systems exist to simplify people’s daily lives and, the more pleasant and fluid their usability (user experience), the greater their efficiency.
It is important to highlight that heuristic evaluation does not replace usability testing, as the problems identified are different in both. Heuristic evaluation provides feedback quickly, is inexpensive, can also be done before the end of interface development, and can be used in conjunction with other usability testing methodologies.
Reference
- 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design by Jakob Nielsen
