Heuristic evaluation is often a good starting point on the outset of a new project and especially when you’ve got little data or research to work from. It’s also a great way of quickly getting familiar with a product, service or site
There are a number of ways to run a heuristic evaluation – ideally I like to work with a standard framework, which I will vary depending on the platform or device.
If you’re in a position to enlist others to help it can give a more balanced view of the product and it’s also a great way to bring the team together to consider the project.
I’ve pulled together a google sheet as a Heuristic evaluation framework which covers items I like to check in each of the following area.
Homepage
- Is the purpose of the site immediately obvious
- Are the main user tasks easily reached from the homepage
Usability
- Can the user read the text easily [contrast, size of font]
Navigation
- Is the site navigation simple to use [consistent and standard position]
- User can easily locate where they are with in a site
Trust
- Is the content easily readable up to date and accurate
- It is easy for a customer to cancel a purchase, service etc
Content
- Does the content uses plain english [jargon free and appropriate for the audience]
- Is content easily readable [well labelled and chunked]
Search
- Are search results well presented and provide accurate ranking
- Are search results relevant to the device [not linked to a desktop site from a mobile search]
Forms
- Forms are broken down in to clearly understood sections