UX evaluation for government.
A heuristic evaluation is a usability inspection method used to assess the user-friendliness and effectiveness of your website. Interface design, content, and visuals are all taken into account.
Evaluation criteria
Match a mental model
Leverage users’ understanding of the world, rather than forcing them to adapt or conform to an unfamiliar system.
Leverage users’ perception of the world
Mirror existing processes and routines
Provide tools when they are needed
Don’t make someone adapt or conform
Use clear language
Use words that make sense to the user.
Speak plainly and sparingly
Use familiar words and concepts
Use an appropriate tone
Avoid jargon and system-specific terms
Provide a sense of place
Structure the system so that users can easily orient themselves and find their way from one place/task to another.
Help people orient themselves
Provide landmarks and wayfinding
Indicate progress within a workflow
Avoid different places looking similar
Offer appropriate aesthetics
Everything should serve a specific purpose and the way it looks/sounds/etc. should reinforce that purpose to the user.
Use form to reinforce function
Plan what people see, hear, and touch
Strive for harmony and aesthetic appeal
Avoid haphazard or disorderly designs
Anticipate needs
Provide the right tools and information at the right time.
Help a person achieve their goals
Reveal information at the right time
Provide tools when they are needed
Don’t rely on a person’s memory
Stay consistent
Handle things that are the same, or similar, in the same way every place users encounter them.
Standardize form, words, and actions
Handle similar things in similar ways
Emphasize differences if appropriate
Avoid breaking common conventions
Use uniform colours, typography, iconography, element styles, spacing, etc.
Prevent errors
Prevent errors where possible and help users to understand what happened, how to get back on track, and how to avoid the problem in the future.
Try to prevent errors in the first place
Provide graceful recovery for mistakes
Help people get back on track
Don’t plan the best case scenario only
Minimize complexity
Apply design practices that simplify the experience and reduce distraction for the user.
Progressively disclose complexity
Establish a clear information hierarchy
Make self-evident products and services
Don’t rely on instructions and guides
Avoid unnecessary elements that don’t contribute to main functionality and could distract the user
Give feedback
To avoid undesirable surprises, let users know what effect their actions have on the system.
Signal the current status of objects
Clearly show the effect of actions
Make feedback instant when possible
Avoid making other people wonder or guess
Account for constraints
Choose visual and auditory components that account for constraints in the context of use or user ability.
Embrace people’s differing abilities
Make site accessible to users with different abilities (colour contrasts, font sizes, keyboard accessibility, etc.)
Anticipate environments and situations
Plan experiences across devices
Don’t assume people have infinite time
Recommendations
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Consistency empowers users to build a mental framework of how the website works. When a website is consistent, users are about to predict where they can find and interact with things.
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Users ned to be ble to identify and locate the content they are looking for.
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Accessibility is crucial for ensuring hat users of all abilities and background have access to essential services.
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Cues and context help users identify what they are looking for and set expectations for the result of an interaction.
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Don’t expect users to know how government departments are organized.
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Research shows that users only read around 20% of a webpage’s content. Produce content based on user goals.