Assignment 4. Heuristics

 

If you are doing your final project as part of a group, work with that group. If you are not working in a group, you have the option to do this individually or in a group. (Doing it in a group is good experience.)

If your project is to evaluate an existing website, system, product, or whatever, use that site. If it is not, find a site to evaluate. If possible, find one that is related to your project, such as a competitor or a site that does something related to the topic of your project.

You will apply two or three sets of heuristics to your site: Nielsen's heuristics and at least one of the following:

  1. A set of heuritics for the kind of site or application yours is, if you can find one. (This requires doing some web searching.) . See, for example, http://www.stcsig.org/usability/resources/toolkit/e-learning-checklist.doc for e-learning and this article for some ideas for e-commerce.
  2. A set of heuristics that you develop, specific to your site. If you do this, you need at least five.


Using these heuristics, evaluate the site.


If you are working with your project group:


Findings must be tied to the heuristics violated; they can't simply be 'good ideas' or 'obvious.' Include specifics of the heuristic violation, the violation itself, severity rating, and recommendations for improvement.

If you are working in a group that is NOT your project group, pick either one member's project or pick an application or website that has nothing to do with your projects. Then follow the instructions above: first apply the heuristics separately, then come together and consolidate your findings.


If you are working individually, you will do the same but without the group consolidation step.

Due March 18.