Homework 3

Homework 8: Heuristic Evaluation

Due Thursday, March 27

In the book and in class we have discussed various approaches to usability evaluation. One of the most popular in industry is heuristic evaluation . In this method, one or more experts critique a user interface with using a set of high-level guidelines (see e.g., p. 233 and p. 249 in the textbook). Your task here is to conduct a heuristic evaluation of http://careers.yahoo.com. As a usage context for the analysis, imagine that you are an undergraduate student learning about human-computer interaction and trying to understand and plan for educational and employment opportunities in that area.

Here are the ten heuristics defined by Nielsen (1994):

Use simple and natural dialog: The user interface should make the interaction sequences expected from users as straightforward and intuitive as possible.
Speak the users' language: The terminology used in menus, buttons, other labels, and so on should be familiar to users.
Minimize memory load: The interactions expected of users should not force them to hold too much information in memory, e.g. to keep track of where they are, what they are doing, or what to do next.
Be consistent: The overall look and feel of the user interface should 'hang together'; users should be allowed to carry out similar tasks in similar ways.
Provide feedback: The user interface should provide feedback when the user takes an action that makes clear what just happened, where they are, what they can do next, etc.
Provide clearly marked exits: Users should not find themselves in a position where they have to carry out several actions to 'leave' or 'shut down' a task.
Provide shortcuts: It should be possible to create or use fast-paths for tasks that are attempted frequently.
Provide good error messages: If the user makes a mistake or slip, it should be clear what has happened and what to do next.
Prevent errors: The user interface have some mechanisms for anticipating and helping users to avoid mistaken actions.
Include good help and documentation: The user interface should provide elaboration of concepts or procedures that users can understand if they are wondering what to do or what has just happened.

Organize your answer by the heuristics themselves, e.g. the guideline used as a subheading, followed by the results of your analytic evaluation efforts. Each problem identified should be rated as "minor", "moderate", or "severe" with respect to system usability. Conclude with a short set of recommendations for re-design of the Web page that are based on your evaluation.

What to turn in:

Your paper should consist of 10 labeled sections presenting the results of your evaluation. The label for each section is one of 10 heuristics. The final, 11th, section should discuss your overall recommendations

Format your paper in 12-point Times or Times New Roman font, single-spaced. Write no more than two pages, printed duplex (that is, hand in a single sheet of paper). Your name and your student number (SS#) should appear in the first two lines at the top-right of the first page in bold; the heading "Homework 8: Heuristic Evaluation" should appear at the top-left of page 1 in bold.