The document discusses how to conduct a usability audit to evaluate a website's usability. A UX designer should understand the business goals and target users when conducting an audit. Errors are categorized as minor, major, or fatal. Minor errors may reduce satisfaction but not irritate users, while major errors can reduce satisfaction and cause users to fail at tasks. Fatal errors can highly irritate users and prevent task completion. The audit evaluates heuristics like visibility and consistency. It is an inexpensive way for experts to evaluate usability, though experts are not real users.

1. CREATIVE FOR COMMERCE

2. Creative for
commerce
Usability audit

3. UX designer, who prepare usability audit,
should know branch, business goals and
exact target of website. In that way he can
assume the role of user.
/ Usability expert in user role

4. How UX designer should prepare audit?
There isn't single, universal method to do it.
In Ideacto we make audit based on UX
heuristic and we separate errors on three
categories: minor, major and fatal error.
/ Categories of errors

5. / Minor errors
Minor errors - that errors can reduce
user satisfaction, but it should not make
strong irritation in users.
For example, small images on website
that you can not zoom in.
There is a small picture that you
can’t enlarge. But it is not the
most important part of this
webpage (in that context) so it's
not the fatal error. >

6. / Major errors
Major errors can very strong reduce
user satisfaction, and even (when
appears very often) make that user fails
to reach the goals.
For example, different colours of call to
action buttons, not good gradation of
buttons size.
„Add to basket” buttons have the
same size and colours like
"Extra warranty". User do not
know what should do. >

7. / Fatal errors
Fatal errors can make strong irritation in
user and also can do that user fails to
reach the goals.
For example, completely delete data in
form on reload.
"Next article" button is less
visible than "advert" button. It
makes strong irritation in user. >

8. In Ideacto we make audit based on UX
heuristic - mainly based on Jacob Nielsen
usability heuristic for user interface designer
/ Usability heuristic
1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and the real
world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
2. Recognition rather than recall
3. Flexibility and efficiency of use
4. Aesthetic and minimalist design
5. Help users recognize, diagnose,
and recover from errors
6. Help and documentation
You can read more about Nielsen usability heuritic on
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/

9. The other method to check usability
is cognitive walkthrough. In this method UX
expert will "walk" through user flow and he'll
assume the role of user.
/ Usability audit vs cognitive walkthrough

10. / Usability audit - advantages & disadvantages
it's quite cheap
method of checking
usability
expert can check
much more than
normally user - for
example some of
technology cases
(RWD, copy)
+
expert is not the real
user
expert may be too
much accurate and
detailed
-

11. Visit our
website
Ideacto.com