Usability Heuristics in Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
Usability heuristics constitute a foundational framework within human–computer interaction, offering concise, experience-based guidelines to identify interface problems and guide iterative design. Since the popularisation of general principles such as visibility of system status, match between system and real world, and error prevention, researchers and practitioners have extended these core heuristics to address domain-specific challenges and diverse user groups. Heuristic evaluation typically involves expert reviewers systematically examining a user interface against a predefined checklist, yielding rapid, cost-effective insights into potential usability flaws. Over the past decade, this method has evolved to encompass not only efficiency and effectiveness but also broader dimensions of user satisfaction, accessibility and emotional impact. Adaptations now consider contexts as varied as mobile health, augmented reality, social media and enterprise resource planning. By blending cognitive psychology, interaction design and accessibility standards, usability heuristics enable multidisciplinary teams to anticipate user needs, reduce development risk and accelerate innovation. The global significance of this approach lies in its capacity to harmonise best practice across cultures, devices and regulatory environments, ensuring that technology remains intuitive, inclusive and resilient amidst rapid technological change.
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Usability Heuristics in Human-Computer Interaction publication trend
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Technical terms
Usability heuristic: A general, experience-based rule designed to guide the assessment of an interface’s ease of use and efficiency.
Heuristic evaluation: A method in which experts systematically review a user interface against a set of heuristics to identify usability problems.
User-centred design: An iterative design philosophy that prioritises the needs, preferences and limitations of end users at every stage of product development.
User experience (UX): The overall perceptions and responses of a person resulting from the use or anticipated use of a system, encompassing usability, accessibility and emotional impact.
References
- Elderly-centered usability heuristics for augmented reality design and development. Universal Access in the Information Society (2024).
- Developing Usability Guidelines for mHealth Applications (UGmHA). Multimodal Technologies and Interaction (2023).
- Usability Heuristics for Evaluating Arabic Mobile Games. International Journal of Computer Games Technology (2022).
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