Does it have legs? Information
Architecture Heuristics for Interaction Designers! ! presented by: ! Abby Covert @Abby_The_IA

What do you want in
a critique?! <Type> Designers: want to spark Non Designers: want a ! new insights when reviewing their healthy and non opinion-driven work alone or with others.! conversation with designers.! ! ! They are trying to avoid: ! They are trying to avoid: ! Blank stares, not knowing where ! Opinions being seen as rulings, to start, taking coffee breaks to having a lack of direction on avoid critiquing ! what feedback to give and when!

But when critiquing work:
What we really want to know is “Does it have legs?” ! • Is it stable enough to support the weight of use?! • Will it be effective in execution?! • Will it stand on itʼs own?! ! A good place to start when answering these questions is Evaluating it against heuristic principles.!

“rules of thumb”! “best practices”!
What is a heuristic?! “intuitive judgments”! “common sense”!

Case Studies! Patterns & Anti-Patterns!
What is NOT a heuristic?! Stencils! Templates!

We use heuristics to…! •
Evaluate the strength and quality of what is currently offered to users! • Facilitate critique during planning, design and development! • Predict the effectiveness of a potential solution!

Existing Sources for Heuristics

• Five sources • Easy
to learn • Over Fifty principles • Easy to Teach • Lots of overlap • Easy to Implement across contexts, teams and Channels

Result: My Proposed 9 Principles
from 50! ? 1 wildcard

REMINDERS– The rules of heuristic
use! 1. Put on your user shoes: Forget where you work and what your job is. ! 2. Put on your user goggles: None of these principles matter without understanding the context of use and who your users are. ! 3. Say “I am not my user”: Never use heuristic review as a replacement for user research.! !

#1 Findable Able to be
located.

#1 Is it Findable? q
Can users easily locate that which they are seeking? ! q How is findability affected across channels and devices?! q Are there multiple ways available to access things?! q How do external and internal search engines “see” what is provided?! q Is information formatted with results in mind? ! q What is provided to make the delivered results more useful?

#2 Accessible Easily approached and/or
entered

#2 Is it Accessible? q
Can it be used via all expected Be aware that upwards of 20% or more of the channels and devices?! worldʼs population has q How resilient and consistent is it a disability. ! ! when used via “other” channels? ! The internet is a public q Does it meet the levels of place. Itʼs like building a ramp to your building, or accessibility compliance to be refusing to. ! considerate of those users with ! </soapbox>! disabilities*! ! !

#3 Clear
Easily
perceptible

#3 Is it Clear? q
Is it easy to understand?! q Is the target demographicsʼ grade and reading level being considered?! q Is the path to task completion obvious and free of distraction?! q Would a user find it easy to describe?! ! !

TOP 3 Clarity Offenses •
Corporate underpants: When you are obviously making a navigational decision based on your organizational structure, not user decision paths.! • Inside Baseball: When you are calling something a term that is unclear to anyone that doesnʼt work for your company. ! ! • Weasel Words: When you are being purposefully unclear in language to avoid making a promise or decision about process or commitment to a user.!

#4 communicative
Talkative,
informing,
timely

#4 Is it communicative? q
Is the status, location and permissions of the user obvious?! q How is messaging used throughout? Is messaging effective for the tasks and contexts being supported?! q Does the navigation and messaging help establish a sense of place that is consistent and orienting across channels, contexts and tasks?! !

#5 Useful Capable of producing
the desired or intended result

#5 Is it Useful? q
Is it usable? Are users able to complete the tasks that they set out to without massive frustration or abandon?! q Does it serve new users as well as loyal users in ways that satisfy their needs uniquely?! q Are there a few navigation options that lead where users may want to go next? Are they clearly labeled?!

#6 Credible Worthy of confidence,
reliable

#6 Is it Credible? q
Is the design appropriate to the context of use and audience?! q Is your content updated in a timely manner? ! q Do you use restraint with promotional content?! q Is it easy to contact a real person?! q Is it easy to verify your credentials?! q Do you have help/support content where it is needed? Especially important when asking for sensitive personal data.!

#7 Controllable Able to adjust
to a requirement

#7 Is it Controllable? q
Are tasks and information a user would reasonably want to accomplish available?! q How well are errors anticipated and eliminated?! q When errors do occur, how easily can a user recover?! q Are features offered to allow the user to tailor information or functionality to their context?! q Are exits and other important controls clearly marked?!

#8 Valuable Of great use,
service and importance

#8 Is it Valuable? q
Is it desirable to the target user? ! q Does it maintain conformity with expectations throughout the interaction across channels? ! q Can a user easily describe the value?! q How is success being measured? Does it contribute to the bottom line?! q Does it improve customer satisfaction?!

#9 Learnable To fix in
the mind, in the memory

#9 Is it Learnable? q
Can it be grasped quickly?! q What is offered to ease the more complicated processes?! q Is it memorable?! q Is it easy to recount?! q Does it behave consistently enough to be predictable?!

#10 Delightful
Greatly
pleasing

#10 Is it Delightful? q
What are your differentiators from other similar experiences or competitors?! q What cross channel ties can be explored that delight? ! q How are user expectations not just met but exceeded?! q What are you providing that is unexpected?! q What can you take that is now ordinary and make extraordinary?!

10 Heuristic IA Principles

How to Implement Heuristics where
you work... q Teach this content to your organization – not just the designers (you can even use this deck)! q Heuristically review where you are today! q Set baseline scores and identify principles you want to see improvement on (and by when)! q Start using this as the consistent language when critiquing work! q Bring these questions as thought starters to your critiques!

thank you • For listening!
• For caring! • For making the internet a better place! ! Twitter: @Abby_The_IA! Email: abby@understandinggroup.com! Brought to you by: The company that enables me do awesome stuff like this for awesome people like you.