Heuristic Evaluations
Below you can find sample of my heuristic evaluations. (Group) indicates projects done in group and not all the work is mine.
Websites
- PubSub.com-Usability Evaluation
- Blogger.com-Blog Posting Process Evaluation (Group)
- State of California (Ca.gov) Web Site Evaluation (Group)
Evaluation Steps
1. Develop User Goals, Profiles, Personas + Scenarios
2. Conduct User Inquiry - Field Observation, Ethnography, User Surveys on 4 Tasks
3. Analyze Inquiry Results
4. Evaluate Global and Local Usability Issues + Suggest Recommendation
Summary : Many users had hard time understanding the purpose and function of PubSub.com. They were confused what PubSub was about and frustrated with the poor navigation system. Even though users managed to create their subscription lists, relevancy of the subscription result contents weren’t accurate enough to satisfy the user needs. The site did not provide appropriate guidance for users to understand its purpose, structure and terminologies used. [See in .pdf]
Evaluation Steps
1. Conduct Individual Cognitive Walkthrough
2. Discuss Major Usability Issues in Group
3. Step-by-step Process Analysis
4. Evaluation Against Focused Usability Principles
Summary : Main usability issues which came up during the preliminary individual cognitive walkthrough were discussed in a group. The process was then analyzed step-by step by focusing on the most problematic usability issues agreed by each evaluator. In Blogger.com, ambiguity with the wording, inconsistent use of color for icons, inconsistent page layouts, and difference in available functions when using different browsers were found to be the major issues. [See in .pdf]
Evaluation Steps
1. Evaluation against Gestalt Principles and Information Theories + Comparison with Other State Websites
2. Evaluation against Visual Design + HCI Principles
3. Error + Error Messege Analysis
4. User Profiles, Personas + Scenarios Development
5. Rapid User Inquiry
Summary : The state of California website overwhelms users for its cluttered, inconsistent sructure for large amount of information it provides. There are some mixtures of information including the duplication of links to the same service, unnecessary change of the buttons every time when the website is refreshed, and information is sometimes densely clustered therefore it is hard to follow the list of links. It has major problems of ambiguous groupings, inconsistent usage of icons and difficulty of manipulation. In general, the potential for error is mainly due to links that change randomly, small fonts, links that do not map to users’ goals or are hard to differentiate, and inconsistent interactive behavior. [See in .pdf]
Products
- Lumix Digital Camera- Product Usability Evaluation
- SEIKO IC Dictionary Product Evaluation
Evaluation Steps
1. Develop User Demographics, Goals, Profiles, Personas + Scenarios
2. Conduct user Inquiry - Website Reviews, Field Observation, Ethnography, User Surveys on 5 Tasks
3. Analyze Inquiry Results
4. Evaluate Global and Local Usability Issues + Suggest Recommendation
Summary : While it received many positive feedbacks on the performance and picture quality, some reviewers also commented on awkward location of buttons and icons, hard to use view finder, and unclear labels and icons. Users can overcome a lot of usability related issues over time; however they are not understood easily by users, and novice users took longer and harder time to use this camera. [See in .pdf]
Summary : 
Even though the overall process of looking up a word in this dictionary was simple, this product failed in efficient grouping of keys by their functions and legible labeling of the keys. It was recommended to regroup and relocate the keys according to their functions, make uniquely shaped and colored power ON/OFF button, and increase the font size or labeling size of each button/key for better legibility. [See in .pdf]
Other
- USPS Automated Postal Center
Summary :The machine had several main issues. First, overall visual designs of the touch screen had very low legibility. The fonts used were not easy to read due to the wide spaces between the letters (s t a m p) in displayed words. All buttons on the touch screen were in the same light blue color without any distinct features, which made it difficult to differentiate which buttons had what functions. There was no meaningful graphic to help users. Throughout the operation, it was hard to keep track of where you were in the process because there was no navigational guide (such as bread crumbs on the websites). The machine did not offer any language but English while many potential users were spanish-speaking residents in the area.