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Heuristic Evaluations:
Beyond the Academic
Review
Uxify 2016
April 9, 2016

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•UX Designer
•EPAM
•@dafark8
• Co-Author of UX Research, Practical Techniques for Designing
Better Products (early release available, full release eta Fall)
(shameless plug)
Who Am I?

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•Define Heuristics
•Existing Challenges
•New Paradigm
•Opportunities
•Q&A
Today’s Plan

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What are Heuristics?
Heuristics refer to experience-based
techniques for solving, learning, and
discovery that give a solution which
is not guaranteed to be optimal
(Wikipedia)

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What are Heuristic Evaluations?
A heuristic evaluation is a method
that helps identify usability
problems in the design by
measuring the interface against
recognized heuristics
(abridged from Wikipedia)

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•Nielsen Heuristics
•Gerhardt-Powals’
•Weinschenk & Barker
•Abby Covert
Heuristics: The Most Common

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•Word
•Excel
•Powerpoint
Heuristic Evaluations: All Different Shapes & Sizes

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•Long
•Academic
•Dated
•Lacking Context
Heuristic Evaluations: What’s Wrong with them?

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A NEW APPROACH
HEURISTIC EVALUATIONS

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First a Special Thanks…

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1. Have a Goal
2. Don’t Forget Users
3. Zero in on Tasks
4. Look Beyond UX
5. Showing not Telling
Approach: Overview

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•Tell a Story
•Part of other research
–Qualitative
–Quantitative
1. Have a Goal

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•Business Users
•Product Users
–Personas
–Market Segments
•Product Team
2. Don’t Forget Users

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•What do users want
to do?
•What is the context?
•What platforms?
•What’s changed?
3. Zero In On Key Tasks

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•Visual Designers
•Content Strategists
•Business & Strategy
4. Look Beyond UX

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•Define a journey
•Invite collaboration
5. Showing Not Telling

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1. Perception
2. Comprehension
3. Operation
3 Lenses for Evaluation

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1. Perception
Can I see the information, task,
or content?

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2. Comprehension
Do I understand the
information presented to me?

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3. Operation
Can I complete the task or
action I set out to do?

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A FICTIONAL EVALUATION
EXAMPLE

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UXify Expert Review
Sample Expert Review

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WHAT WE DID
Over five days, content strategy, UX and
design leads assessed key tasks presented on
the ACME University’s dining website.

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WHAT WE FOUND – SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY, SIMPLIFY
Use fewer screens1
Make it easier to understand what the site can do2
Make important content easier to find3
Make tools easier to use4
Use more images5
Make the site more interactive6

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THE TASKS
Find and compare meal plans1
Find a retail dining location2
Review the meal options for a residential dining location3
Assemble a meal under 400 calories4
Get healthy breakfast tips5

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A MEAL PLAN
FIND AND COMPARE
TASK 1

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Review and
compare meal plans
Find and Compare a Meal Plan
1. Access meal plans from main
menu
2. Review meal plan options
3. Compare meal plan options
4. View meal plan options (grid)
5. Meal plan details
6. Product list view
7. Product ‘Quick Look’
Current Flow

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Can users find and compare a meal plan?
 Yes. Users can find and compare meal plans
Opportunities
• Make it easier to compare choices with stronger color contrast, intuitive icons
and simpler layout
• Highlight the significant differences between the plans by distinguishing
specific content
• Eliminate unnecessary screens by consolidating information
• Guide or lead users to arrive at an appropriate plan more easily

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Find and Compare a Meal Plan
Copy difficult to scan and parse Iconography unclear

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DINING LOCATION
FIND A RETAIL
TASK 2

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Find a Chick-fil-A
that accepts ACME’s
Dining Dollars
Find a Retail Dining Location
1. Access locations menu
2. View locations list
3. View map overlay
4. Select location
5. View search results
Current Flow

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Can users find a retail location that accepts dining dollars?
✗ No. Users can find Chik-fil-A, but it is unclear if they can use Dining Dollars
Opportunities
• Use logos for immediately recognizable options
• Add specific filters like ‘food type’ for quicker, easier results
• Improve map display so it’s easier to see locations and understand distance
• Offer useful details including: menus, Dining Dollar status, photos, hours

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Find a Retail Dining Location
PDF map lacks interactivity Large images are unclear and obnoxious

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SO WHAT NEXT?

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•Improve Collaboration
•Inform Gaps
•Identify Opportunities
•Define KPIs/OKRs
•Validate Designs
Usage

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•Expand Templates
•Define EPAM
Heuristics
•Expand Usage
Next Steps

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THANK YOU

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•@dafark8
•David_Farkas1@epam.com
•Feedback:
bit.ly/UXifyFarkas
Questions & Discussion