Jakob’s Ten Usability Heuristics

Twenty-five years ago, Jakob Nielsen created a timeless set of 10 usability heuristics.  His heuristics are based on an understanding of human behavior, psychology, and information technology. 

Usability testing should always be performed with actual users of a solution.  Before we get those end users involved, Jakob’s heuristics can be used to perform an initial usability assessment and spot potential problems.  This can save significant development time by eliminating usability issues before the solution is in the final stages of development and testing.   

Our Quick Tips provides an explanation of the 10 heuristics and can be used as a checklist when reviewing an interface.