Heuristic Principles
for U.Va. Library Usability Testing

download Library Web Heuristics in Word format

— categorized and ranked according to order of importance

Info Structure & Navigation

1.  Intelligible information structure
interface organizes & presents info in easily understood & easily accessible manner; initial levels of information should be concise, easy to scan, allowing progressive access to more extensive info.
[cf. Error prevention; User control; Flexibility & efficiency]

2.  Use of plain language
interface avoids jargon, organizes info according to user expectations rather than organization insiders.
[cf. Match w/ real world]

3.  Intuitive, efficient & flexible navigation
user can get back to home page, move up and down info hierarchy easily (i.e., get back to top of subsection, switch to other branch of info tree)
[cf. User control; Flexibility & efficiency]

4.  Orientation
intuitive visual cues to orient visitor to location within site (e.g., breadcrumbs, page headers, etc.)
[cf. Visibility of system status]

Content & Design

5.  Consistent placement of interface elements
primary & secondary navigation, help, search, contact, other supporting info, (e.g., menus, footer, banner.)
[cf. Consistency & standards; Recognition; Help]

6.  Consistent use of language & labeling in interface
stylistic consistency in spelling, capitalization, etc. (e.g., "Questions?" button to send e-mail to a librarian; VIRGO Search form; "e-mail" always hyphenated)
[cf. Recognition vs. recall; Consistency & standards; Recognition; Help and documentation; Match w/ real world]

7.  Consistent, effective & appropriate design
consistency with site-wide design standards (logo, basic layout, color palette, etc.); effective presentation of information; appropriate use of graphics (including use of ALT tags); consistent typography; appropriate & efficient image compression for optimal download time; avoidance of gratuitous icons, unnecessary graphics.
[cf. Aesthetics & minimalist design]

Specific to Search Forms & Data Manipulation

8.  Error prevention
clear indications regarding restricted-access resources; select menus instead of text input)
[cf. Error prevention]

9.  Supports expert users
accelerators, shortcuts, search options; saving & reviewing results & parameters
[cf. Flexibility and efficiency of use; User control]

10. Useful error reports
informative, plain language error messages; uniformity of language in error messages; system suggests search strategies
[cf. Error recovery]

6/20/01
revised 9/27/01
adapted from J. Nielsen's "Ten Usability Heuristics" and
the "Usability Assessment Tool" of the California Digital Library