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Heuristic eval. Nielsen × your UI.
Score your interface against Nielsen's 10 heuristics, mark severity, capture fixes — export findings to share with the team.
10 heuristics
1. Visibility of system status
Does the system show where the user is and what's happening?
2. Match with the real world
Does language and flow match user mental models?
3. User control and freedom
Can users undo, go back, escape?
4. Consistency and standards
Are interactions consistent within the product and with platform conventions?
5. Error prevention
Does design prevent errors before they happen?
6. Recognition rather than recall
Are options visible rather than requiring memory?
7. Flexibility and efficiency
Do experts get accelerators (shortcuts, bulk actions)?
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
Is everything on screen actually needed?
9. Recover from errors
Are errors stated in plain language with a clear recovery path?
10. Help and documentation
When help is needed, is it findable, contextual and useful?
Audit summary
Total severity
0 / 40
Critical issues
0
severity ≥ 3
Benchmark
Ship-ready
No major or catastrophic issues across Nielsen's 10. Polish 1s and 2s in the next cycle.
How it works.
3-5 evaluators uncover 75-90% of issues. Run independently, merge findings, prioritize by severity × frequency. Fix 4s and 3s first.
FAQ.
What is a heuristic evaluation?+
An expert-led UX audit against a known heuristic set (Nielsen, Tognazzini, Shneiderman). Faster and cheaper than usability testing — usually 3 evaluators catch 75%+ of major issues.
What are Nielsen's 10 heuristics?+
Visibility of system status, real-world match, user control, consistency, error prevention, recognition over recall, flexibility, aesthetic design, error recovery, help and documentation.
Heuristic evaluation vs usability test?+
Heuristic eval = expert opinion (fast, cheap, biased). Usability test = real users (slow, expensive, accurate). Run heuristic first to fix obvious issues, then usability test the harder ones.
How many evaluators?+
3-5 evaluators catch 75-90% of issues — diminishing returns past 5. Use multiple evaluators because no single expert spots everything.
How do I score severity?+
0 = not a problem · 1 = cosmetic · 2 = minor · 3 = major · 4 = catastrophic. Fix 4s and 3s before launch; 1s and 2s can wait for polish cycles.