Heuristic evaluation is a method that requires specialists to analyse and provide feedback on user interfaces according to the list of heuristics (Jackson & Cheng, 2018). I will use this method to evaluate the interactive design of the website. All Access Life is a website showcasing adaptive products, which allow disabled people to live the best life. I spent around 15 minutes browsing and interacting with it.
The advantage of this website is that it provides accessibility tools to improve the interactive experience of special groups of people. The website is likely to be visited by a large proportion of people with disabilities and the designers have taken this into account. General websites also have accessibility aids, but this one places them in a prominent position, which makes it easier for people to use. I think the designer applies the 7th Usability Heuristic, ‘Flexibility and efficiency of use.’
Moreover, the website creates a good Visibility of system status. When I pressed the respective buttons in the accessibility toolbox, the page informed me of the current status. I think it is important to clearly list the functions that the user is using. There are at least 15 options in the toolbox and the user may enable multiple functions. If the system doesn’t display it, the user may not be able to identify which function is being used.
Another good aspect of this website is that the product categories are named according to familiar terms, making it easier for users to find their products. If medical terms were used, it might be difficult for users to understand and they might need to consult a dictionary. In addition, the website has given each category an easily recognisable icon, which gives the user a more intuitive feel. I believe the website meets the second and seven heuristics, ‘Match between system and the real world’ and ‘Consistency and standards.’
The problem with the design of this website is that it doesn’t make it obvious to the viewer that this is a shopping site. Although the site was designed with the user group in mind, the layout of the website was confusing and I couldn’t quickly understand the intent of the website. In my opinion, there is no big difference between All Access Life and Amazon, they are both online shopping platforms. The difference lies in the fact that the target user of All Access Life is disabled people. According to the Usability Heuristics, I think they didn’t work well in terms of Aesthetic and minimalist design.
Reflection
I have learned the history of Human factors and used the method to evaluate the website. I learned that ergonomics was developed during the Second World War. The example of ill consideration of Human Factors is interesting, the designer can ignore the usability of products when he is famous enough. Also, I am interested in Checklists, this can reduce our chances of making a mistake. Before learning ergonomics, I couldn’t reasonably tell what was good interaction design. In my previous job, people did not deliberately mention HF, but they did consider it when designing.
I enjoy learning about Human Factors and Nielsen-Molich heuristics. I think this method is very helpful when I design products, whether they are physical or virtual. I can constantly review the soundness of the design by following these 10 rules during the design process. We have only had a brief introduction to Human factors, but it is important to build this awareness of HF.
I will use Nielsen-Molich heuristics to analyse products in the future. In addition, I will explore different human factors methods, such as checklists. I can create my own checklist to avoid errors when working on multiple projects. Finally, combining theory with practice is very important in practical work, which can deepen the understanding of Human Factors.
Bibliography
Jackson, F. and Cheng, L. (2018) ‘UX in practice: Applying a heuristic evaluation technique to real world challenges,’ Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 62(1), pp. 702–703.