A fast and effective method to diagnose the usability of a Web site, Intranet or software application

Heuristic evaluation is one of the most commonly used methods of usability analysis. It is a systematic methodology to analyze users' interfaces in Web sites, Intranets and software applications.

The goal of heuristic evaluations is to identify usability problems in the design of an interface in order to solve those problems as part of an improvement process.

It entails analyzing each of the components of a website and verifying them against usability standards and principles.

Our methodology

The first step in the methodology we use consists of surveying the characteristics and profiles of the end-users of the website, intranet or software applications in conjunction with the client.

Once we have these characteristics, we identify specific aspects to be analyzed. To do that we identify the main tasks that users perform when using the interface.

We then evaluate the different elements (such as buttons, search engines, forms, etc) that are part of the product (Web site, Intranet or software application) to examine the design, location and execution according to usability parameters, and bearing in mind these four aspects:

• Design
• Contents
• Functionality
• Usability

As a result, the customer receives a report describing any conflicts found in each of the above-mentioned aspects and the suggestions for improvement.