Heuristic Evaluation of NUIG Participate Module 1 Nielsen s 10 Usability Heuristics (Nielsen & Mack, 1994) 1. Aesthetic & Minimalist Design Pages should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. While there is a sense of minimalism in the design of certain pages of Module 1, where scrolling is not necessary (see screenshot 1), there are several pages (see screenshot 2 example) where too much information results in a dialogue competition, leaving the user frustrated and ignoring potentially important information, e.g., instructions. When instructions are provided with the activities, many users are not bothered to read through the instructions, instead they immediately begin to attempt to complete the activity. Using bold words, italics, and underlined text can guide users to read information, however be careful not to use too many variations because the user may be put off trying to work out what they are being informed of. Also it is important NOT TO SHOUT when giving instructions, because some users may be put off, and may find it more difficult to read, causing them to skip over the information. Screenshot 1 Screenshot 2
2. Match between System & the Real World The system should speak the users language, and follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order. While the menu along the left hand side of the screen (see screenshot 3) may appear to follow a logical order because each section is numbered, it may not seem as natural or logical to users who are unfamiliar with psychological terms, e.g., Lsas Questionnaire. It is important that information is clear for the target users. Consider renaming certain sections to entice participants, rather than confuse, e.g., change Lsas Questionnaire to Social Anxiety Scale/Questionnaire ; the user may recognise this more easily and quickly. Screenshot 3
3. Recognition Rather Than Recall Minimise the user s memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible; the user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. In other words, users should not have to think when on your site. This is particularly important when the users are completing modules and tasks. For example, if a user does not have time to complete a full module and must leave on page 12, when they return to the module at a later time they should be brought to that page automatically, so that their memory load is minimised when using the system. Users are most likely not going to enjoy trying to remember what they were doing the last time they were on the site, or where they were. It is also important for users to know where they are in a system, especially when they are going through steps of a process, like in the modules. While the section headings on the left hand side of the screen are beneficial, and allow the user to navigate easily through the process, it also distracts users because they can skip sections, ignoring the designated steps. A potential way to avoid this, while still allowing the user to avoid thinking is by including a previous and next section button with the titles of these sections. For example: Previous Welcome Next Lsas Feedback 4. Consistency & Standards Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing: the same information should be presented in the same location on all screens and dialogue boxes, and it should be formatted in the same way to facilitate recognition. The system should be consistent with the users task expectations and other user interfaces. In general, the consistency of the website remains the same, but there are elements that may confuse participants or cause flow to be disrupted. For example, on one page users are asked to rate how hopeful they feel on a scale from 1-10, but then two pages later they are asked to rate their commitment on a scale from 1-100 (screenshot 4). While this may appear to be a small detail (which it is), it causes the user to have to think more, because now they have a different way of answering the same question. Having users define their commitment so specifically may even cause users to feel unsure about their commitment, leading them to abandon the module. It is recommended to have scales, and all features on the website, remain consistent throughout to ensure high usability and user experience. Other areas of consistency to remain vigilant of is font size and type. Screenshot 4
5. Visibility of System Status The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time. Examples of visibility of system status: 6. User Control & Freedom Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked emergency exit to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. This is dealt with in the current website by having back buttons placed throughout module pages, and having the menu available to users at all times to escape from a page they may have accidentally selected. While user freedom is important in design and usability, it is also important to have constraints in place to help and guide the user. For example, when users are required to answer questions on a quiz and they do not, they are informed that the answers are required to move forward (screenshot 5); however, users can simply select the next page of the module along the left hand side. In this case, a constraint may be beneficial to encourage users to attempt to answer the quiz questions. Screenshot 5
7. Flexibility & Efficiency of Use Accelerators allow users to tailor frequent actions. For the expert user, they may also speed up the interaction with the system, such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. These are basically cheats, or shortcuts, for the experienced user; keystrokes that generate shortcuts etc. 8. Help Users Recognise, Diagnose & Recover From Errors Error messages should be expressed in plain language, precisely indicating the problem, and constructively suggest a solution. While most error messages appear to be straightforward and precise (screenshot 6), others should be edited to incorporate this heuristic (screenshot 7). Screenshot 6 Screenshot 7
9. Error Prevention Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to be action. Taking inspiration from other quizzes online (screenshot 8), it may be beneficial to inform users that there is information required / missing before they have selected the save or next button. Screenshot 8 10. Help & Documentation It may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large. Help and documentation is clearly available on the Participate site, where stages of each module is available to the user at all times (screenshot 9). While this information may be important to the user, it can be equally valuable in another place, e.g., at the bottom of the screen, as an option to view separately, on the homepage of the module, or as seen in Heuristic 3. It is important to remember of the important of the flow of the user when completing a module, and that this may hinder the flow experience. Screenshot 9