Conducting a Heuristic Evaluation of a Web Site

Step 1:
15 min to get to know the Web site, free surfing
5 min to write down the first impression

Step 2:
60-90 min heuristic evaluation in teams of four (every evaluator uses one of the four content-oriented heuristic of Heuristics for Web Communication)
15 min to write down the findings

Step 3:
60-90 min to discuss and rate (severity rating, see below) the uncovered usability problems with the team members 

Step 4:
60-90 min to present the results of the team to the other teams taking part in the evaluation process and discuss the findings

Note:
The suggested time spans are only recommendations and can vary with the size of the Web site, the scope of the evaluation, and the total amount of time available for the evaluation process.

Severity Rating:

The severity rating is based on Jakob Nielsen’s Severity Ratings for Usability Problems, Internet, URL http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/severityrating.html.

When doing the rating, please consider the following aspects:
•	The frequency with which the problem occurs: Is it common or rare? 
•	The impact of the problem if it occurs: Will it be easy or difficult for the users to overcome? 
•	The persistence of the problem: Is it a one-time problem that users can overcome once they know about it or will users repeatedly be bothered by the problem?

The following 0 to 4 rating scale can be used to rate the severity of usability problems: 

0 = I don't agree that this is a usability problem at all 
1 = Cosmetic problem only: need not be fixed unless extra time is available on project 
2 = Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority 
3 = Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority 
4 = Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix this before product can be released