Design Heuristics — Understanding
On this page 5 headings
23. Two kinds of interface evaluation
THINK What are ways in which you can evaluate the user interface of your prototype? Pause and write down your responses before reading further.
Ways to evaluate a UI: assess with real users; critique from expert designers — but that can be subjective, so specific guidelines help. Heuristics are strategies derived from previous experiences with similar problems — rules of thumb/guidelines. The most widely used set is Jakob Nielsen's 10 design heuristics; Prof. Scott Klemmer grouped them into Understanding, Action and Feedback.
24. Consistency
Consistent layout — colour, font etc. consistent across all screens; e.g. in your operating system the Yes/No and Minimize/Restore/Close buttons are placed consistently across windows. Consistent names — product and feature names the same throughout.
25. Familiar language and metaphors
Use words familiar to end users, not technical jargon — online shopping uses physical-store terms like checkout and shopping cart; paying online uses a 'mobile wallet' with actions like adding or removing money.
26. Clean and functional design
Minimal and easy to understand. A cluttered design (many colours, fonts, images, no common theme) makes it hard to find information; a good design has clear navigation describing key features and consistent colours and fonts.
27. Overview of heuristic groups
Understanding = consistency, familiar language and metaphors, clean and functional design. Action = freedom, flexibility, recognition over recall. Feedback = show status, prevent errors, support error recovery, provide help.