Psychological Usability Heuristics

Based on the work of Susan Weinschenk

People Don't Want to Work or Think More Than They Have To

1.1The system doesn't require more user work than needed.
1.2The system shows information in little bits (progressive disclosure).
1.3Examples are shown in addition to descriptions.
1.4The objects on the screen have correct affordances; clickable things look clickable.
1.5The system doesn't provide more features to the user than needed.
1.6Good default values are provided.

2.1In every moment, only indispensable information is provided on the screen.
2.2The information is easy to scan.
2.3Headers and short blocks of information or text are used.
2.4The system doesn't require the user to multi-task.
2.5Text lines have a suitable length; shorter is preferable, but people read better with longer ones.

3.1The system is prepared for user errors, it anticipates what they will be, and endeavors to prevent them while enabling easy recovery.
3.2User confirmation is required before committing actions with severe results in case of error.
3.3It's easy to undo and always provides a method of escape without punishing the user.
3.4Errors are prevented rather than shown and corrected.
3.5Error-prone tasks are broken up into smaller chunks.
3.6If the system can correct a user error, it does so and shows what it did.
3.7The development of the interface includes several iterations, user feedback and testing.

5.1The system supports social uses of its features where applicable.
5.2Users can look to others for guidance or recommendation.
5.3The system takes advantage of multiple users doing some tasks at the same time.
5.4Before asking the users to act or offer information, the system gives them something they want.
5.5The system shows people doing something when the users are required to do it.
5.6Social uses of the system are based on a maximum of 150 strong ties for a single user, but supports thousands of weak ties.

6.1Users' attention is grabbed and held at the right moments; users aren't distracted when paying attention to something important.
6.2The system uses unique, innovative, or novel objects in the interface when it wants the user to pay attention.
6.3The system doesn't rely on users noticing every change in the interface.
6.4To grab the attention, the system exploits the use of color, font, weight, balance, sound, or other effective principles of design.
6.5The system doesn't unnecessarily distract users.

7.1The system takes advantage of users seeking food, relationships, information, etc.
7.2The system provides more information to the users when they ask for it.
7.3The system provides enough helpful feedback to tell the user what is going on.

8.1The system takes unconscious processing into consideration.
8.2When users are required to commit a large action, they are first required to commit a smaller one.
8.3The system uses food, sex, and danger messages properly to grab user's attention
8.4Pictures of people and stories are used to induce emotional responses in the users.
8.5The system uses unconscious content properly to affect users' behaviour.
8.6The system takes users' unconscious decisions and rationalizations into consideration.

9.1The system takes users' mental models into account.
9.2Tasks are designed to take previous users' mental models of every task into account.
9.3The system matches the users' mental model, or it teaches the users to have the right mental model of the system.
9.4Suitable metaphors are employed to help users obtain a correct conceptual model of the system.
9.5User research is done to collect information about users' mental models.

10.1Information is logically grouped to help focus and avoid cluttered interfaces.
10.2Related objects are close in proximity.
10.3Fonts are sufficiently large and easy to read.
10.4The system takes peripheral vision into consideration; the visual environment of important objects in the interface is coherent with it.
10.5There is adequate color contrast.
10.6Pictures of objects are clear, descriptive and typically better if they have a slightly angled perspective and appear slightly above.
10.7When color is used to demonstrate a relationship, another method to show the same information is used.