Heuristic Principles
for U.Va. Library Usability Testing
|
— categorized and ranked according to order of importance
Info Structure & Navigation
1. Intelligible information structure
interface organizes & presents info in easily understood & easily accessible
manner; initial levels of information should be concise, easy to scan, allowing
progressive access to more extensive info.
[cf. Error prevention; User control; Flexibility & efficiency]
2. Use of plain language
interface avoids jargon, organizes info according to user expectations rather
than organization insiders.
[cf. Match w/ real world]
3. Intuitive, efficient & flexible navigation
user can get back to home page, move up and down info hierarchy easily (i.e.,
get back to top of subsection, switch to other branch of info tree)
[cf. User control; Flexibility & efficiency]
4. Orientation
intuitive visual cues to orient visitor to location within site (e.g., breadcrumbs,
page headers, etc.)
[cf. Visibility of system status]
Content & Design
5. Consistent placement of interface elements
primary & secondary navigation, help, search, contact, other supporting info,
(e.g., menus, footer, banner.)
[cf. Consistency & standards; Recognition; Help]
6. Consistent use of language & labeling
in interface
stylistic consistency in spelling, capitalization, etc. (e.g., "Questions?"
button to send e-mail to a librarian; VIRGO Search form; "e-mail" always
hyphenated)
[cf. Recognition vs. recall; Consistency & standards; Recognition; Help and
documentation; Match w/ real world]
7. Consistent, effective & appropriate design
consistency with site-wide design standards (logo, basic layout, color palette,
etc.); effective presentation of information; appropriate use of graphics (including
use of ALT tags); consistent typography; appropriate & efficient image compression
for optimal download time; avoidance of gratuitous icons, unnecessary graphics.
[cf. Aesthetics & minimalist design]
Specific to Search Forms & Data Manipulation
8. Error prevention
clear indications regarding restricted-access resources; select menus instead
of text input)
[cf. Error prevention]
9. Supports expert users
accelerators, shortcuts, search options; saving & reviewing results &
parameters
[cf. Flexibility and efficiency of use; User control]
10. Useful error reports
informative, plain language error messages; uniformity of language in error messages;
system suggests search strategies
[cf. Error recovery]
6/20/01
revised 9/27/01
adapted from J. Nielsen's "Ten
Usability Heuristics" and
the "Usability Assessment Tool" of the California
Digital Library
