Optimization of UX and usability through expert evaluation.

What we do?

 

Our UX and usability experts go through the essential use cases of a web site or app and look for possibilities to boost conversion and user acceptance. We use ISO norms, Nielsen’s usability heuristics and our long-standing experience to find quick and long-term fixes.

 

What are typical questions?

 

• How can I quickly optimize the UX and usability of an app or website?

• Which bugs and shortcomings can be solved before I run a regular user test?

 

How does it help?

 

• Quick and useful optimization suggestions

• Optimizationn before a user test

• Can be done with any kind of test material, e.g., running apps, wireframes, interaction designs

 

What are the limitations?

 

• This approach covers formal criteria of usability and hypothetical UX issues. As it doesn’t involve real users, target-group specific aspects cannot be covered

Key Infos

When to use?

Any time. 

Combine with

A user test after the optimizations have been implemented.

Variants and options

An evaluation can be done with a formative focus (i.e., looking means to improve) or a summative focus (i.e., evaluate the performance against the norm or against competitors). 

FAQ

When should you do a heuristic evaluation?

It’s best to do it early in the design process, but heuristic evaluations are not a replacement for usability testing or speaking to users. They provide a foundation for improving the experience on the side of user testing, or before you go into a usability test.

Why should a heuristic evaluation be performed?

There are some great reasons why heuristic evaluations are helpful:

• Identify and focus on specific issues without having to speak to users

• Discover usability problems with individual elements and how they impact the overall user experience.

• Provide quick and inexpensive feedback to designers

• Gather and give feedback early in the design process

• See improvements in important business metrics, such as bounce rate, user engagement, and click-through rate

What kind of heuristics do you consider in the Heuristic Evaluation?

The 10 heuristics most commonly used in user interface testing were developed by Jakob Nielsen in 1995. In addition, there are other heuristics  such as Don Norman’s Principles of Design, Ben Shneiderman’s Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design, Connell & Hammond’s 30 Usability Principles etc.

They are called "heuristics" because they are general rules of thumb and not specific usability guidelines. For this reason, the focus on the different heuristics varies depending on the topic or question.

 

Jakob Nielsen’s Heuristics for User Interface Design*:

1. Visibility of system status

2. Match between system and the 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

 

* https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/

Michael Wörmann

Managing Partner

+49 89 2050 5560 

m.woermann (AT) house-of-communication.com