Heuristic Overload

• Posted: February 26, 2008
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• Author: Paul Rowe
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• Filed under: testing, usability
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• Tags: testing, usability

A heuristic put simply is ‘a method to help solve a problem’. In computing heuristics usually take the form of a set of informal guidelines that can be applied to test the usability of user interfaces. The most widely cited by far are Jacob Neilson’s Ten Usability Heuristics which can be found on the following link:

http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_list.html

However these are not the ultimate authority on how we can make systems usable. For this we may need to turn to standards such as ISO BS and EEC, whilst considering ergonomic requirements, HCI principles and any domain specific heuristics that may be relevant.David Travis’ article highlights this approach to usability.

It is easy to get overwhelmed with testing strategies/requirements and specification. For this reason it is useful to consider the broader picture. Developing pattern languages is closely linked to the heuristic ethos but offers a less ad hoc and more robust approach to software development.
A good object orientated overview
A more general introduction to Alexander’s work

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