Heuristic Evaluation.pptx for information systems

Information systems Human computer interaction

1. Laboratory Heuristic Evaluation of Website

2. Objectives From this experiment, the student will be able to: To stress the importance of a good interface design To understand the importance of human psychology in designing good interfaces . To motivate students to apply Human Machine Interaction in their day – to – day activities.

3. Outcomes The learner will be able, To understand and apply principles of a good interface design. To analyze the local and global impact of computing on individuals, organizations, and society.

4. Contents Heuristic Evaluations and Expert Reviews Advantages and Disadvantages of Heuristics 10 Usability heuristics

5. Heuristic Evaluations and Expert Reviews Heuristic evaluation is a process where experts use rules of thumb to measure the usability of user interfaces in independent walkthroughs and report issues. Evaluators use established heuristics (e.g., Nielsen- Molich's ) and reveal insights that can help design teams enhance product usability from early in development.. In a heuristic evaluation, usability experts review your site’s interface and compare it against accepted usability principles. The analysis results in a list of potential usability issues.

6. Advantages and Disadvantages of Heuristics A heuristic evaluation should not replace usability testing . Although the heuristics relate to criteria that affect your site’s usability , the issues identified in a heuristic evaluation are different than those found in a usability test . Heuristic evaluation and usability testing are two different techniques for finding usability problems. With heuristic evaluation, someone looks at the user interface and identifies the problems. With usability testing, potential users try out the user interface with real tasks . ... This corresponds to usability testing.

7. Advantages of Heuristics It can provide some quick and relatively inexpensive feedback to designers. You can obtain feedback early in the design process. Assigning the correct heuristic can help suggest the best corrective measures to designers . You can use it together with other usability testing methodologies. You can conduct usability testing to further examine potential issues .

8. Disadvantages of Heuristics It requires knowledge and experience to apply the heuristics effectively. Trained usability experts are sometimes hard to find and can be expensive. You should use multiple experts and aggregate their results. The evaluation may identify more minor issues and fewer major issues.

9. 10 Usability heuristics Though many groups have developed heuristics, one of the best-known sources is the set developed by Nielsen’s in 1994. Nielsen refined the list originally developed in 1990 by himself and Rolf Molich . Nielsen’s Heuristics include: 01. Visibility of system status 02. Match between system and the real world 03. User control and freedom

10. 10 Usability heuristics … 04. Consistency and standards 05. Error prevention 06. Recognition rather than recall 07. Flexibility and efficiency of use 08. Aesthetic and minimalist design 09. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors 10. Help and documentation

11. 01. Visibility of system status The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time. When you do some action or referring to a continuing process , the status should be clearly mentioned until it’s completion. Let’s look in some examples.

12. 01. Visibility of system status … When you login to Gmail, it shows you what’s happening in the background and the progress.

13. 01. Visibility of system status … When you upload something, the progress should be clearly visible unless you don’t know what happens in the background and gets confused . When you check flight details on google , it clearly shows you the status in an appealing way. Colour represents that it’s on time and the location of the icon indicates the progress of the journey .

14. 01. Visibility of system status …

15. 01. Visibility of system status …

16. 02. Match between system and the real world The system should speak the users’ language , with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions , making information appear in a natural and logical order. Basically, it’s making the designs, interactions labelling and conversations more familiar to the real world . Image in the next slide is a representation of iBooks application using the appearance of a wooden bookshelf.

17. 02. Match between system and the real world …

18. 02. Match between system and the real world … Recycle bin icon is similar to a real bin , and the icon itself shows weather it has files in it or not.

19. 03. User control and freedom Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked “ emergency exit ” to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo . When you trigger an action accidentally, and you want to get out of there without going through any of the details, the small cross is there to rescue you.

20. 03. User control and freedom … If you attached a large file in Gmail by mistakenly , you can cancel it before its fully uploaded.

21. 04. Consistency and standards Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions. You will always find sign-in, profile details and shopping cart information at the top right corner .

22. 04. Consistency and standards … Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint all use the same style toolbar with the same primary menu options: Home , Insert , Page Layout … Consistency results in efficiency and perceived intuitiveness.

23. 05. Error prevention Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action. When you try to send an attachment through Gmail and forgets to attach it , Gmail smartly detects that you haven’t attached the file and warn you before you send the mail.

24. 05. Error prevention …

25. 05. Error prevention … When you choose password tips are provided to prevent errors and password strength is calculated and displayed as you type.

26. 06. Recognition rather than recall Minimize the user’s memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.

27. 06. Recognition rather than recall … When you google , it gives you list suggestions as you type in based on your previous searches and related most searches. It also lists your matching bookmarks as well.

28. 07. Flexibility and efficiency of use Accelerators — unseen by the novice user — may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions . While a novice user uses the default google image search , the expert user always can refine the search by size, colour, type, and so on.

29. 07. Flexibility and efficiency of use …

30. 08. Aesthetic and minimalist design Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility. Google search and account login is an excellent example of minimalist design, and it has only the required information to perform the primary task. In contrast, in yahoo , it is cluttered with so many irrelevant details.

31. 08. Aesthetic and minimalist design …

32. 09. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution. When there is an error you should not panic user , you need to help them recover by suggesting a solution. This error message assures you are safe and suggest some alternative links. This funny error message keeps the audience engaged, while relevant links keep you on your website.

33. 09. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors …

34. 09. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors …

35. 10. Help and documentation Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation . Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user’s task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large. You can provide any extra information that would be useful to users, along with the label. But you should do so only if it is necessary .

36. 10. Help and documentation …

37. 10. Help and documentation …