Evaluation: Introduction and Heuristics
Introduction
Validating the design is vital to the success of any application. The goal of interface evaluations is to make products and services more usable, easy to seek out out and intuitive for the user. Learners create an evaluation strategy and validate user interfaces using evaluation techniques and usefulness testing.
The Four Pillars of Design
As you’ll see within the image successful user interfaces are held by four pillars, within the Evaluation of user interfaces most vital things are Guidelines Documents and Expert reviews, usability testing. So, a successful interface depends on those 2 pillars also.
Evaluation
What is the interface evaluation?
User Interface evaluation is Testing the usability, functionality, and acceptability of an interactive system.
In interface design, there are variations of evaluations consistent with the planning stage. we will see 3 three design stages like Sketch, Prototype and Final. for every stage, different evaluations will apply.
Another evaluation is consistent with the initial goals. we’ve predefined goals to realize consistent with those goals we’ve evaluations.
Alongside the various usability dimensions and that we have evaluations.
Using those evaluations, we will identify and proper issues as soon as possible in our interface designs.
Evaluation Approaches
There are many evaluations approaches.
The first one is consistent with the place — This approach has two categories first one is within the laboratory and therefore the other is within the field.
The second approach is predicated on expert evaluation — this one has 4 categories
• Analytic methods
• Review Methods
• Model-based methods and heuristics
The third Approach is Involving users — this approach has 4 categories
• Experimental methods
• Observational Methods
• Query methods and Formal or Semi-formal or informal
The last approach is Automated evaluation — this one contains 3 categories
• Simulation and software measures
• Formal evaluation with models
• Especially for low-level issues
The next thing is that the Cognitive walkthrough
So, what’s a cognitive walkthrough?
Cognitive walkthrough — A cognitive walkthrough may be a structured approach to evaluating the usability of a product. It involves the tester, who isn’t a user, asking four simple questions on the way a specific user journey is conducted.
The focus of the cognitive walkthrough is on understanding the system’s learnability for brand fresh or infrequent users. The cognitive walkthrough was originally designed as a tool to gauge walk-up-and-use systems like postal kiosks, cash dispenser machines (ATMs), and interactive exhibits in museums where users would have little or no training. However, the cognitive walkthrough has been employed successfully with more complex systems like CAD software and software development tools to understand the first experience of the latest users.
Walkthrough Organization
So, in the Walkthrough specification, we will specify a walkthrough using these points.
• A specification or prototype of the system
• an outline of the task the user is to perform on the system
• an entire, written list of the actions needed to finish the task
• a sign of who the users are (experience, knowledge)
For each step during this walkthrough, we must check this stuff.
• is that the effect of the action equivalent because of the user’s goal at that point?
• Will users see that the action is available?
• Once users have found the right action, will they realize it is that the one they need?
• After the action is taken, will users understand the feedback they get?
Heuristic Evaluation
So, what’s Heuristic Evaluation?
Heuristic evaluation could also be 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.
This method is developed by Jacob Nielsen in 1994
We can see these characteristics in Heuristics Evaluation,
o Structured design critique
o employing a group of straightforward and general heuristics
o Executed by a little group of experts (3–5)
o Suitable for any stage of the design (sketches, UI, …)
o Goal: find usability problems during a design
What is a Design Critique?
A design critique refers to analyzing a design and giving feedback on whether it meets its objectives. A design critique usually manifests as a gaggle conversation with the goal of improving a design. It doesn’t suggest simply judging a design.
When Is Design Critique Useful?
Before user testing
o to save lots of effort
o Solving easy-to-solve problems
o Leaving user testing for bigger issues
Before redesigning
o Identify the good parts (to be kept) and thus the bad ones (to be redesigned)
To generate evidence for problems that are known (or suspected)
o from ‘murmurs’ or ‘impressions’ to hard evidence
Before release
o Smoothing and polishing
Basic Idea — the thanks to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation
Define a group of heuristics (or principles)
Give those heuristics to a gaggle of experts
o Each expert will use heuristics to look for problems within the planning
Experts work independently
o Each expert will find different problems
In the end, experts communicate and share their findings
o Findings are analyzed, aggregated, ranked
The discovered violations of the heuristics are used to fix problems or to re-design
What are Heuristics?
A heuristic could also be a mental shortcut that allows people to unravel problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently. These rule-of-thumb strategies shorten decision-making time and permit people to function without constantly stopping to believe their next course of action. Heuristics are helpful in many situations, but they’re going to also cause cognitive biases.
Being aware of how heuristics work also because the potential biases they introduce might assist you to create better and more accurate decisions.
Heuristics play important roles in both problem-solving and decision-making, as we often address these mental shortcuts once we’d like a quick solution.
References:
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/heuristic-evaluation
https://usabilitygeek.com/heuristic-evaluation-introduction/
http://mit.wu.ac.th/mit/images/editor/files/Human Computer Interaction week 5.pdf
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-heuristic-2795235
https://www2.cs.sfu.ca/CourseCentral/363/inkpen/lecture_notes/363_lecture7.pdf
