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Evaluate designs

Nielsen's 10 Heuristics

Ten rules of thumb to find usability problems in any interface, fast.

⏱ 15 minBeginnerBy Jakob NielsenSince 1994
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Use it when

Reviewing a design before handoff or testing.

You'll walk away with

A prioritised list of issues with heuristics and severity.

Step 1 · The idea

Ten rules of thumb for usable interfaces

In 1990, Jakob Nielsen and Rolf Molich described a fast way to find usability problems without testing with users: check the interface against a short list of principles. Nielsen refined the list into the 10 usability heuristics in 1994, and they're still the most used UX checklist today.

They're called “heuristics” because they're rules of thumb, not strict laws. A review using them is a heuristic evaluation. It's cheap, fast, and finds many problems before users ever see them.

Heuristic reviews don't replace testing with real users. They catch the obvious problems first, so user tests can find the deeper ones.
Step 2 · Learn them

The 10 heuristics

Tap a card to flip between a good example and a violation.

Step 3 · Real walkthrough

Reviewing a send-money flow

A review of “Send money to a new contact via UPI” in “PayKaro”, a fictional payments app, screen by screen. Each problem gets a heuristic, a severity from 0 to 4, and a fix.

Send money
Enter VPA
Virtual payment address
A/c + IFSC
IMPS / NEFT transfer
Step 1

Enter the receiver

Banking jargon instead of everyday words. Many people don't know VPA means UPI ID. Fix: “Enter UPI ID or phone number”, with an example like name@bank.
H2 · Match between system and the real worldSeverity 3 · Major
Amount
₹100
₹200
₹500
₹1k
₹5k
₹10k
Limit exceeded. Please choose another.
Step 2

Choose an amount

Every amount looks allowed, but some go over the daily limit — you only find out after tapping. Fix: show the limit left today and grey out amounts above it.
H1 · Visibility of system statusH5 · Error preventionSeverity 2 · Minor
Confirm
To: riya.s@okbank
Amount: ₹2,000
Note
UPI PIN
Receiver's name never shown
Step 3

Confirm and pay

One typo in the UPI ID and the money goes to a stranger. Fix: show the verified name (“Riya Sharma”) and ask “Is this right?” before the PIN step.
H5 · Error preventionSeverity 4 · Catastrophe
Status
Txn PNDG
OK
Step 4

Payment pending

Was money taken? Will Riya get it? Fix: “Payment pending. Your bank is processing it — this usually takes a few minutes. We'll let you know.”
H1 · Visibility of system statusSeverity 3 · Major
✅
Scheduled!
₹2,000 every month
No edit or cancel options
Step 5

Set up monthly

Plans change, but there's no way to cancel a scheduled payment. Fix: add Edit, Pause and Cancel on the schedule.
H3 · User control and freedomSeverity 3 · Major
Findings
No receiver name4
VPA jargon3
Unclear pending3
Can't cancel3
Hidden limit2
Step 6

Report the findings

Sort by severity and fix from the top. The missing receiver name first — money sent to the wrong person is hard to get back.
Prioritise by severity

PayKaro is a fictional app made for this lesson.

Nielsen's severity scale

0
Not a problem
Not a usability issue
1
Cosmetic
Fix if there's spare time
2
Minor
Low priority
3
Major
High priority, fix soon
4
Catastrophe
Must fix before release
Step 4 · Try it

Spot the violation

Eight broken screens. Pick the heuristic each one breaks.

Report missing item
📷 order-photo.jpg
Upload
👆 tapped 3 times… nothing seems to happen
Screen 1 of 8Score 0

Which heuristic does this break?

Do it yourself

Run a heuristic evaluation in 5 steps

1

Set the scope

Pick the flows and key tasks to review, e.g. “send money to a new contact via UPI”.
2

Review alone

3–5 evaluators each go through the flow on their own. First pass for the overall flow, second for details.
3

Log each issue

Where it is, what's wrong, which heuristic, a severity 0–4, and a screenshot.
4

Merge and prioritise

Combine everyone's lists, remove duplicates, agree on severity, sort from highest.
5

Fix, then test

Fix the top issues and confirm with a quick usability test with real users.
Watch out

Common mistakes

✓ Do

  • Use several evaluators — each finds different problems
  • Always add a severity and a suggested fix
  • Review real tasks, not random screens
  • Include the heuristic number so the team learns the pattern
  • Follow up with real user testing

✗ Avoid

  • Treating heuristics as a substitute for user research
  • Only one person reviewing their own design
  • A long list of issues with no priorities
  • Vague notes like “confusing” with no reason or fix
  • Arguing about which heuristic instead of fixing the problem
Cheat sheet

Nielsen's 10 heuristics in one screen

H1  Visibility of system status ........ tell people what's happening
H2  Match with the real world ........... their words, not yours
H3  User control and freedom ............ undo, cancel, back
H4  Consistency and standards ........... same thing, same name
H5  Error prevention .................... stop mistakes early
H6  Recognition rather than recall ...... show, don't make them remember
H7  Flexibility and efficiency .......... shortcuts for regulars
H8  Aesthetic and minimalist design ..... remove what competes
H9  Recognise, diagnose, recover ........ plain errors + a fix
H10 Help and documentation .............. short help, in context

SEVERITY  0 none · 1 cosmetic · 2 minor · 3 major · 4 catastrophe
ISSUE LOG  where · problem · heuristic · severity · fix · screenshot
TEAM       3–5 evaluators, review alone first, then merge
Use it at work

Figma template

A ready-made canvas for running this framework with your team. Free, editable, and it works in Figma and FigJam.

Preview of the Heuristic evaluation log template
Figma & FigJam · free

Heuristic evaluation log

  • Issue log table
  • 10 heuristics legend
  • Severity scale
  1. 1Download the SVG, or copy it to your clipboard.
  2. 2In Figma or FigJam, drag the file onto the canvas — or paste with ⌘V / Ctrl V.
  3. 3Everything arrives as editable layers: type in the boxes, add stickies, duplicate rows.
Download SVGOpen in Figma ↗
Check yourself

Quick quiz

Get all three right to complete the lesson.

Question 1

1. A payment fails and the app just shows “Error 402”. Which heuristic is broken?

Question 2

2. Gmail's “Undo send” is a great example of…

Question 3

3. How many evaluators does Nielsen recommend for a heuristic evaluation?

Saved

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Sources and further reading

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