ABSTRACT
Heuristic evaluations of a user interface design against established principles and guidelines provide an inexpensive method for periodically checking the goodness of a user interface design from initial concept prototypes in Phase 2 to final design validation in Phase 5 (Nielsen, 1993, 1994). Heuristic evaluations can be done fairly quickly, do not require a test environment to be set up or subjects to be recruited, and may actually discover issues in the design that might not be noted by users. It also fits extremely well with a philosophy of iterative product design. If performed after each major iteration of the user interface design during the development process, it can provide a rigorous method for tracking the level of usability attained by that version of the product prototype. It identifies where the usability problems lie in the product and highlights them so that they can be addressed by the development team. Heuristic evaluation results, particularly if presented in a quantitative or semiquantitative manner, are always a welcome contribution to management and phase gate reviews.
