Heuristic Evaluation - A System Checklist
Heuristic Evaluation - A System Checklist
Heuristic Evaluation - A System Checklist
Usability Techniques
Heuristic Evaluation - A System Checklist
By Deniese Pierotti, Xerox Corporation
The system should always keep user informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
Does every display begin with a title or header that describes screen
1.1 OOO
contents?
Is there a consistent icon design scheme and stylistic treatment across the
1.2 OOO
system?
1.3 Is a single, selected icon clearly visible when surrounded by unselected icons? OOO
Do menu instructions, prompts, and error messages appear in the same place
1.4 OOO
(s) on each menu?
In multipage data entry screens, is each page labeled to show its relation to
1.5 OOO
others?
If overtype and insert mode are both available, is there a visible indication of
1.6 OOO
which one the user is in?
If pop-up windows are used to display error messages, do they allow the user
1.7 OOO
to see the field in error?
1.8 Is there some form of system feedback for every operator action? OOO
After the user completes an action (or group of actions), does the feedback
1.9 OOO
indicate that the next group of actions can be started?
Is there visual feedback in menus or dialog boxes about which choices are
1.10 OOO
selectable?
Is there visual feedback in menus or dialog boxes about which choice the
1.11 OOO
cursor is on now?
1.13 Is there visual feedback when objects are selected or moved? OOO
If there are observable delays (greater than fifteen seconds) in the system’s
1.16 OOO
response time, is the user kept informed of the system's progress?
1.22 Are response times appropriate to the user's cognitive processing? OOO
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1.25 Is the menu-naming terminology consistent with the user's task domain? OOO
Does the system provide visibility: that is, by looking, can the user tell the
1.26 OOO
state of the system and the alternatives for action?
1.27 Do GUI menus make obvious which item has been selected? OOO
If users must navigate between multiple screens, does the system use
1.29 OOO
context labels, menu maps, and place markers as navigational aids?
The system should speak the user’s 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.
Are menu choices ordered in the most logical way, given the user, the item
2.2 OOO
names, and the task variables?
2.3 If there is a natural sequence to menu choices, has it been used? OOO
2.4 Do related and interdependent fields appear on the same screen? OOO
2.5 If shape is used as a visual cue, does it match cultural conventions? OOO
When prompts imply a necessary action, are the words in the message
2.7 OOO
consistent with that action?
2.9 On data entry screens, are tasks described in terminology familiar to users? OOO
For question and answer interfaces, are questions stated in clear, simple
2.11 OOO
language?
Do menu choices fit logically into categories that have readily understood
2.12 OOO
meanings?
Does the command language employ user jargon and avoid computer
2.14 OOO
jargon?
2.16 Does the command language allow both full names and abbreviations? OOO
2.18 Have uncommon letter sequences been avoided whenever possible? OOO
Does the system automatically enter a dollar sign and decimal for monetary
2.20 OOO
entries?
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Do GUI menus offer activation: that is, make obvious how to say "now do
2.22 OOO
it"?
Has the system been designed so that keys with similar names do not
2.23 OOO
perform opposite (and potentially dangerous) actions?
Are function keys labeled clearly and distinctively, even if this means
2.24 OOO
breaking consistency rules?
Users should be free to select and sequence tasks (when appropriate), rather than having the system do this for them. 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. Users should make their own decisions (with clear information) regarding the costs of
exiting current work. The system should support undo and redo.
When a user's task is complete, does the system wait for a signal from the
3.4 OOO
user before processing?
3.5 Can users type-ahead in a system with many nested menus? OOO
Is there an "undo" function at the level of a single action, a data entry, and
3.7 OOO
a complete group of actions?
3.10 Can users reduce data entry time by copying and modifying existing data? OOO
If menu lists are long (more than seven items), can users select an item
3.12 OOO
either by moving the cursor or by typing a mnemonic code?
If the system uses a pointing device, do users have the option of either
3.13 OOO
clicking on menu items or using a keyboard shortcut?
Are menus broad (many items on a menu) rather than deep (many menu
3.14 OOO
levels)?
If the system has multiple menu levels, is there a mechanism that allows
3.15 OOO
users to go back to previous menus?
If users can go back to a previous menu, can they change their earlier menu
3.16 OOO
choice?
3.17 Can users move forward and backward between fields or dialog box options? OOO
If the system has multipage data entry screens, can users move backward
3.18 OOO
and forward among all the pages in the set?
If the system uses a question and answer interface, can users go back to
3.19 OOO
previous questions or skip forward to later questions?
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3.23 Can users set their own system, session, file, and screen defaults? OOO
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform
conventions.
4.2 Has a heavy use of all uppercase letters on a screen been avoided? OOO
4.6 Are there no more than twelve to twenty icon types? OOO
4.7 Are there salient visual cues to identify the active window? OOO
4.9 Are vertical and horizontal scrolling possible in each window? OOO
4.10 Does the menu structure match the task structure? OOO
Have industry or company standards been established for menu design, and
4.11 OOO
are they applied consistently on all menu screens in the system?
4.13 If "exit" is a menu choice, does it always appear at the bottom of the list? OOO
Are menu items left-justified, with the item number or mnemonic preceding
4.15 OOO
the name?
4.16 Do embedded field-level prompts appear to the right of the field label? OOO
4.19 Are field labels consistent from one data entry screen to another? OOO
Are fields and labels left-justified for alpha lists and right-justified for
4.20 OOO
numeric lists?
4.21 Do field labels appear to the left of single fields and above list fields? OOO
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4.27 Color: up to four (additional colors for occasional use only) OOO
Sound: soft tones for regular positive feedback, harsh for rare critical
4.28 OOO
conditions
Are there no more than four to seven colors, and are they far apart along
4.30 OOO
the visible spectrum?
4.31 Is a legend provided if color codes are numerous or not obvious in meaning? OOO
4.32 Have pairings of high-chroma, spectrally extreme colors been avoided? OOO
4.33 Are saturated blues avoided for text or other small, thin line symbols? OOO
4.34 Is the most important information placed at the beginning of the prompt? OOO
4.35 Are user actions named consistently across all prompts in the system? OOO
4.36 Are system objects named consistently across all prompts in the system? OOO
For question and answer interfaces, are the valid inputs for a question
4.38 OOO
listed?
Are menu choice names consistent, both within each menu and across the
4.39 OOO
system, in grammatical style and terminology?
Does the structure of menu choice names match their corresponding menu
4.40 OOO
titles?
Are commands used the same way, and do they mean the same thing, in all
4.41 OOO
parts of the system?
4.46 Is the structure of a data entry value consistent from screen to screen? OOO
Is the method for moving the cursor to the next or previous field consistent
4.47 OOO
throughout the system?
If the system has multipage data entry screens, do all pages have the same
4.48 OOO
title?
If the system has multipage data entry screens, does each page have a
4.49 OOO
sequential page number?
Does the system follow industry or company standards for function key
4.50 OOO
assignments?
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Are error messages worded so that the system, not the user, takes the
5.5 OOO
blame?
If humorous error messages are used, are they appropriate and inoffensive
5.6 OOO
to the user population?
5.9 Do error messages avoid the use of violent or hostile words? OOO
Do all error messages in the system use consistent grammatical style, form,
5.11 OOO
terminology, and abbreviations?
5.13 Does the command language use normal action-object syntax? OOO
If an error is detected in a data entry field, does the system place the cursor
5.15 OOO
in that field or highlight the error?
5.16 Do error messages inform the user of the error's severity? OOO
Do error messages indicate what action the user needs to take to correct
5.20 OOO
the error?
If the system supports both novice and expert users, are multiple levels of
5.21 OOO
error-message detail available?
6. Error Prevention
Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place.
If the database includes groups of data, can users enter more than one
6.1 OOO
group on a single screen?
6.2 Have dots or underscores been used to indicate field length? OOO
Is the menu choice name on a higher-level menu used as the menu title of
6.3 OOO
the lower-level menu?
6.4 Are menu choices logical, distinctive, and mutually exclusive? OOO
Are the function keys that can cause the most serious consequences in
6.7 OOO
hard-to-reach positions?
Are the function keys that can cause the most serious consequences located
6.8 OOO
far away from low-consequence and high-use keys?
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If the system uses qualifier keys, are they used consistently throughout the
6.10 OOO
system?
6.11 Does the system prevent users from making errors whenever possible? OOO
Does the system warn users if they are about to make a potentially serious
6.12 OOO
error?
6.13 Does the system intelligently interpret variations in user commands? OOO
Do data entry screens and dialog boxes indicate the number of character
6.14 OOO
spaces available in a field?
Do fields in data entry screens and dialog boxes contain default values when
6.15 OOO
appropriate?
Make 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.
For question and answer interfaces, are visual cues and white space used to
7.1 OOO
distinguish questions, prompts, instructions, and user input?
7.2 Does the data display start in the upper-left corner of the screen? OOO
7.3 Are multiword field labels placed horizontally (not stacked vertically)? OOO
7.4 Are all data a user needs on display at each step in a transaction sequence? OOO
Are prompts, cues, and messages placed where the eye is likely to be
7.5 OOO
looking on the screen?
Have prompts been formatted using white space, justification, and visual
7.6 OOO
cues for easy scanning?
Is there an obvious visual distinction made between "choose one" menu and
7.8 OOO
"choose many" menus?
Have spatial relationships between soft function keys (on-screen cues) and
7.9 OOO
keyboard function keys been preserved?
Does the system gray out or delete labels of currently inactive soft function
7.10 OOO
keys?
Is white space used to create symmetry and lead the eye in the appropriate
7.11 OOO
direction?
Have items been grouped into logical zones, and have headings been used
7.12 OOO
to distinguish between zones?
Are zones no more than twelve to fourteen characters wide and six to seven
7.13 OOO
lines high?
Have zones been separated by spaces, lines, color, letters, bold titles, rules
7.14 OOO
lines, or shaded areas?
7.15 Are field labels close to fields, but separated by at least one space? OOO
Are long columnar fields broken up into groups of five, separated by a blank
7.16 OOO
line?
7.18 Are symbols used to break long input strings into "chunks"? OOO
7.19 Is reverse video or color highlighting used to get the user's attention? OOO
7.20 Is reverse video used to indicate that an item has been selected? OOO
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7.23 Has the same color been used to group related elements? OOO
7.25 Is color used in conjunction with some other redundant cue? OOO
Is there good color and brightness contrast between image and background
7.26 OOO
colors?
Have light, bright, saturated colors been used to emphasize data and have
7.27 OOO
darker, duller, and desaturated colors been used to de-emphasize data?
7.28 Is the first word of each menu choice the most important? OOO
Does the system provide mapping: that is, are the relationships between
7.29 OOO
controls and actions apparent to the user?
7.31 Have frequently confused data pairs been eliminated whenever possible? OOO
7.32 Have large strings of numbers or letters been broken into chunks? OOO
If the system has many menu levels or complex menu levels, do users have
7.35 OOO
access to an on-line spatial menu map?
Do GUI menus offer affordance: that is, make obvious where selection is
7.36 OOO
possible?
7.37 Are there salient visual cues to identify the active window? OOO
7.39 Do data entry screens and dialog boxes indicate when fields are optional? OOO
On data entry screens and dialog boxes, are dependent fields displayed only
7.40 OOO
when necessary?
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. Provide alternative means of access and
operation for users who differ from the "average" user (e.g., physical or cognitive ability, culture, language, etc.)
If the system supports both novice and expert users, are multiple levels of
8.1 OOO
error message detail available?
Does the system allow novices to use a keyword grammar and experts to
8.2 OOO
use a positional grammar?
8.3 Can users define their own synonyms for commands? OOO
Does the system allow novice users to enter the simplest, most common
8.4 OOO
form of each command, and allow expert users to add parameters?
8.6 Does the system provide function keys for high-frequency commands? OOO
For data entry screens with many fields or in which source documents
8.7 OOO
may be incomplete, can users save a partially filled screen?
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If menu lists are short (seven items or fewer), can users select an item by
8.9 OOO
moving the cursor?
If the system uses a pointing device, do users have the option of either
8.11 OOO
clicking on fields or using a keyboard shortcut?
Does the system offer "find next" and "find previous" shortcuts for
8.12 OOO
database searches?
On data entry screens, do users have the option of either clicking directly
8.13 OOO
on a field or using a keyboard shortcut?
Can expert users bypass nested dialog boxes with either type-ahead,
8.16 OOO
user-defined macros, or keyboard shortcuts?
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.
9.2 Are all icons in a set visually and conceptually distinct? OOO
Have large objects, bold lines, and simple areas been used to distinguish
9.3 OOO
icons?
9.4 Does each icon stand out from its background? OOO
If the system uses a standard GUI interface where menu sequence has
9.5 already been specified, do menus adhere to the specification whenever OOO
possible?
9.7 Does each data entry screen have a short, simple, clear, distinctive title? OOO
9.9 Are prompts expressed in the affirmative, and do they use the active voice? OOO
Is each lower-level menu choice associated with only one higher level
9.10 OOO
menu?
9.11 Are menu titles brief, yet long enough to communicate? OOO
Are there pop-up or pull-down menus within data entry fields that have
9.12 OOO
many, but well-defined, entry options?
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.
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If users are working from hard copy, are the parts of the hard copy that go
10.1 OOO
on-line marked?
Are data entry screens and dialog boxes supported by navigation and
10.5 OOO
completion instructions?
Are there memory aids for commands, either through on-line quick
10.7 OOO
reference or prompting?
Is the help function visible; for example, a key labeled HELP or a special
10.8 OOO
menu?
10.20 Can the user change the level of detail available? OOO
10.21 Can users easily switch between help and their work? OOO
10.22 Is it easy to access and return from the help system? OOO
10.23 Can users resume work where they left off after accessing help? OOO
11. Skills
The system should support, extend, supplement, or enhance the user’s skills, background knowledge, and expertise ----not
replace them.
11.1 Can users choose between iconic and text display of information? OOO
If users are experts, usage is frequent, or the system has a slow response
11.3 OOO
time, are there fewer screens (more information per screen)?
If users are novices, usage is infrequent, or the system has a fast response
11.4 OOO
time, are there more screens (less information per screen)?
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11.5 Does the system automatically color-code items, with little or no user effort? OOO
If the system supports both novice and expert users, are multiple levels of
11.6 OOO
detail available.
11.7 Are users the initiators of actions rather than the responders? OOO
11.8 Does the system perform data translations for users? OOO
If the system has deep (multilevel) menus, do users have the option of
11.10 OOO
typing ahead?
When the user enters a screen or dialog box, is the cursor already
11.12 OOO
positioned in the field users are most likely to need?
11.13 Can users move forward and backward within a field? OOO
Is the method for moving the cursor to the next or previous field both
11.14 OOO
simple and visible?
Has auto-tabbing been avoided except when fields have fixed lengths or
11.15 OOO
users are experienced?
11.18 Are important keys (for example, ENTER , TAB) larger than other keys? OOO
Are there enough function keys to support functionality, but not so many
11.19 OOO
that scanning and finding are difficult?
11.20 Are function keys reserved for generic, high-frequency, important functions? OOO
Does the system correctly anticipate and prompt for the user's probable
11.22 OOO
next activity?
The user’s interactions with the system should enhance the quality of her or his work-life. The user should be treated with
respect. The design should be aesthetically pleasing- with artistic as well as functional value.
12.4 Has the amount of required window housekeeping been kept to a minimum? OOO
If users are working from hard copy, does the screen layout match the
12.5 OOO
paper form?
12.7 Can users turn off automatic color coding if necessary? OOO
12.8 Are typing requirements minimal for question and answer interfaces? OOO
If the system uses multiple input devices, has hand and eye movement
12.13 OOO
between input devices been minimized?
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12.15 Is the numeric keypad located to the right of the alpha key area? OOO
12.16 Are the most frequently used function keys in the most accessible positions? OOO
12.17 Does the system complete unambiguous partial input on a data entry field? OOO
13. Privacy
The system should help the user to protect personal or private information- belonging to the user or the his/her clients.
13.2 Can protected or confidential areas be accessed with certain passwords. OOO
Primary Source
Secondary Source
Usability Inspection Methods. © Copyright 1994.By Jakob Nielsen and Robert Mack ISBN: 1-55542-622-0
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