Assignment 4 - Heuristic Evaluation

Objective

Perform an evaluation of a web system based on Heuristic Evaluation guidelines.

Assignment

In this assignment you must first (1) decide on a web site to use for the evaluation. This must be a web site that performs a specific function, not just browsing. After selecting the site you must then walk through the site functionality and determine if it meets the principles in the Heuristic Analysis Design.  You will want to capture screens from the selected system and create an evaluation based on HE parameters for each of these screens. You will probably want to annotate the screens with the numbers from the HE analysis parameters.

I strongly suggest a site that has the functional portion being evaluated in 3 or fewer screens as each screen will need to be part of the evaluation.

You will turn in a word or pdf document.

You must also discuss the elements of the assignment on the discussion board for credit. You may discuss your thoughts of the HE freely on the discussion board. You may share sites.

Information

Heuristic Evaluation (HE)

A heuristic analysis relies on experts that have some experience with user interface design. It is a formal procedure for evaluation of the functionality of interfaces to functional systems.

A sample heuristic evaluation is attached Heuristic Evaluation.docx   Heuristic Evaluation.pdf

More details on heuristic evaluation are available at usability.gov - https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/heuristic-evaluation.html 

Really good examples are included in this article - https://blog.prototypr.io/10-usability-heuristics-with-examples-4a81ada920c 

Each page must be evaluated on the following (from usability.gov, Nielson)

1. Visibility of system status: The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Consistency and standards: Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

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.

Suggestions for sites to analyze

It is strongly suggested that you pick a web site that you are familiar with. Some suggestions would be below. You should use one site and one process;

1. Daytona State Catalog - http://daytonastate.smartcatalogiq.com/   -

     Process: Determining requirements for a degree;

     Process: Determining availability of a class 

2. The Daytona State College admissions application ( start at http://www.daytonastate.edu/ click Apply Now ) -

     Process: Submitting an application for admission

     Process Submitting an application for BS degree

3. The DSC registration system -

     Process: Registering for a class

Formatting of Heuristic Analysis

One of the possible formats for the HE is a table that allows you to summarize the HE and the actions that are needed as part of the Analysis

Page 1 - Daytona State Application Page

Violation 1-1 (Visibility System Status) - Their is no information as to the reasoning of requiring a new account or using an existing account to submit an application. There is no explanation of the rationale for these steps or what the user should do to progress with the application process. 

Violation 1-3 (User Control) - This page contains multiple links, but users clicking on these have no guarantee they will return to the application form. There is no information to help the users make the decisions and give them confidence they are going in the correct direction and can return to the correct state of the application.

Violation 1-8 (Aesthetics and Minimalism) - The primary purchase of this page is the apply for admissions. This is not the correct location for links about the catalog, connections, or other links. These could be offered as options - but should appear in a more minimal format or as a 3rd option to the application process - not at the top of the application.

Violation 1-10 (Documentation) - This page should have extensive information on the process for applying for admission including a guide that tells the students what information is needed for the process. None of these are apparent.

Page 2 - Create New Account