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Difference between revisions of "IS480 Team wiki: 2011T2 Eureka Heuristic Evaluation"

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| valign="top" align="left"| '''Visibility of system status'''<br>
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Visibility of system status'''<br>
 
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
 
The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.
| valign="top" align="left"| A timer should be included to give users and teams a sense of how long each round had been going on for.
+
| valign="top" align="left"| - A timer should be included to give users and teams a sense of how long each round had been going on for.
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 3
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 3
 
|-
 
|-
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Match between system and the real world'''<br>
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Match between system and the real world'''<br>
 
The system should speak the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.  
 
The system should speak the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.  
| valign="top" align="left"| Buttons in the navigation bar for shortcuts and flexibility should be distinctively different from other function-specific buttons. This is so users can tell the difference.<br>  
+
| valign="top" align="left"| - Buttons in the navigation bar for shortcuts and flexibility should be distinctively different from other function-specific buttons. This is so users can tell the difference.<br>  
After sending trade request, all values should be reset back to default instead of remaining as the last setting.<br>  
+
- After sending trade request, all values should be reset back to default instead of remaining as the last setting.<br>  
The naming of certain functions/buttons need to be rephrased to be made obvious to the users<br>
+
- The naming of certain functions/buttons need to be rephrased to be made obvious to the users<br>
| valign="top" align="center"| 3 <br><br><br>
+
| valign="top" align="center"| 3 <br><br>
 
2<br><br>
 
2<br><br>
 
3
 
3
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| valign="top" align="left"| '''User control and freedom'''<br>
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''User control and freedom'''<br>
 
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. Support undo and redo.  
 
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. Support undo and redo.  
| valign="top" align="left"| A reset button on the ‘send request’ page could be added to allow users to undo and reset all their settings back to the default values.
+
| valign="top" align="left"| - A reset button on the ‘send request’ page could be added to allow users to undo and reset all their settings back to the default values.
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 1
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 1
 
|-
 
|-
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Consistency and standards'''<br>
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Consistency and standards'''<br>
 
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.  
 
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.  
| valign="top" align="left"| Button sizes in the navigation bar are not consistent.<br>
+
| valign="top" align="left"| - Button sizes in the navigation bar are not consistent.<br>
Use of conventional icons for certain buttons such as ‘back to main’ could be utilized.<br>
+
- Use of conventional icons for certain buttons such as ‘back to main’ could be utilized.<br>
Login page should include password authentication to disallow other teams from accessing other teams’ accounts.<br>
+
- Login page should include password authentication to disallow other teams from accessing other teams’ accounts.<br>
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 1<br>
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 1<br>
1<br><br>
+
1<br>
 
3
 
3
 
|-
 
|-
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Error prevention'''<br>
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Error prevention'''<br>
 
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 the action.  
 
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 the action.  
| valign="top" align="left"| When sending a trade request, the default resources for ‘trade with’ and ‘trade for’ are the same which would not make any sense in a transaction/trade. Application should prevent users from selecting the same resources for both options.
+
| valign="top" align="left"| - When sending a trade request, the default resources for ‘trade with’ and ‘trade for’ are the same which would not make any sense in a transaction/trade. Application should prevent users from selecting the same resources for both options.
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 4
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 4
 
|-
 
|-
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Recognition rather than recall'''<br>
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Recognition rather than recall'''<br>
 
Minimize 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. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.  
 
Minimize 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. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.  
| valign="top" align="left"| Team name should be displayed around the top of pages to avoid confusion if tablets got mixed up. <Br>
+
| valign="top" align="left"| - Team name should be displayed around the top of pages to avoid confusion if tablets got mixed up.<Br>
Create the possibility of a scrollable area on all pages except main page to allow teams/users to view the amount of resources without having to click a separate button to open a popup. This will make it easier for tracking their resources.<br>
+
- Create the possibility of a scrollable area on all pages except main page to allow teams/users to view the amount of resources without having to click a separate button to open a popup. This will make it easier for tracking their resources.<br>
Push notifications to teams whenever sent requests to other teams are accepted or declined.
+
- Push notifications to teams whenever sent requests to other teams are accepted or declined.
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 3<br><br>
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 3<br><br>
2<br><br><br><br>
+
2<br><br><br>
 
3
 
3
 
|-
 
|-
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| valign="top" align="left"| '''Aesthetic and minimalist design'''<br>
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Aesthetic and minimalist design'''<br>
 
Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.  
 
Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.  
| valign="top" align="left"| Some button names are very wordy. Should shorten the naming of particular functions.<br>
+
| valign="top" align="left"| - Some button names are very wordy. Should shorten the naming of particular functions.<br>
More attractive design with some illustrations will be good. Perhaps a better background, include icons and different colour schemes etc.
+
- More attractive design with some illustrations will be good. Perhaps a better background, include icons and different colour schemes etc.
| valign="top" align="center"| 2<br><br>
+
| valign="top" align="center"| 2<br>
 
2
 
2
 
|-
 
|-
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| valign="top" align="left"| '''Help and documentation'''<br>
 
| valign="top" align="left"| '''Help and documentation'''<br>
 
Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user's task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.
 
Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user's task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.
| valign="top" align="left"| A help button providing descriptions for each function in the main menu will be helpful.
+
| valign="top" align="left"| - A help button providing descriptions for each function in the main menu will be helpful.
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 1
 
| valign="top" align="center"| 1
 
|-
 
|-

Revision as of 23:56, 25 July 2012

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Heuristic Evaluation

Good design begins with honesty, tough questions, and trusting your intuition...


Home   Project Stakeholders   Project Overview   Usability & Storyboard   Project Management   Learning Outcomes   Sitemap
Game Description Storyboarding User Acceptance Test Heuristic Evaluation


As our project focus is on developing an Android game, the importance of usability testing cannot be highlighted further especially when user experience is involved. Eureka has scheduled 4 Heuristic Evaluation tests throughout the project to highlight usability issues to help improve the user experience. The figure below shows the severity ratings for the evaluations.

Eureka Heuristic Evaluation Severity Ratings.png

Heuristic Violated Comments and Feedback Severity (1 - 4)
Visibility of system status

The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.

- A timer should be included to give users and teams a sense of how long each round had been going on for. 3
Match between system and the real world

The system should speak the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.

- Buttons in the navigation bar for shortcuts and flexibility should be distinctively different from other function-specific buttons. This is so users can tell the difference.

- After sending trade request, all values should be reset back to default instead of remaining as the last setting.
- The naming of certain functions/buttons need to be rephrased to be made obvious to the users

3

2

3

User control and 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. Support undo and redo.

- A reset button on the ‘send request’ page could be added to allow users to undo and reset all their settings back to the default values. 1
Consistency and standards

Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.

- Button sizes in the navigation bar are not consistent.

- Use of conventional icons for certain buttons such as ‘back to main’ could be utilized.
- Login page should include password authentication to disallow other teams from accessing other teams’ accounts.

1

1
3

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 the action.

- When sending a trade request, the default resources for ‘trade with’ and ‘trade for’ are the same which would not make any sense in a transaction/trade. Application should prevent users from selecting the same resources for both options. 4
Recognition rather than recall

Minimize 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. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.

- Team name should be displayed around the top of pages to avoid confusion if tablets got mixed up.

- Create the possibility of a scrollable area on all pages except main page to allow teams/users to view the amount of resources without having to click a separate button to open a popup. This will make it easier for tracking their resources.
- Push notifications to teams whenever sent requests to other teams are accepted or declined.

3

2


3

Flexibility and efficiency of use

Accelerators -- unseen by the novice user -- may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.

- -
Aesthetic and minimalist design

Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.

- Some button names are very wordy. Should shorten the naming of particular functions.

- More attractive design with some illustrations will be good. Perhaps a better background, include icons and different colour schemes etc.

2

2

Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors

Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.

- -
Help and documentation

Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user's task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.

- A help button providing descriptions for each function in the main menu will be helpful. 1

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Heuristic Violated Comments and Feedback Severity (1 - 4)
Visibility of system status

The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.

Values which reflect the current status of the team or game such as amount of money in the bank and interest to be earned should be a different colour. 2
Match between system and the real world

The system should speak the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.

- -
User control and 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. Support undo and redo.

- -
Consistency and standards

Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions.

Pop up window for depositing/withdrawing money from bank:

Image of the bank should be vertically centralized.
Naming of the building ‘Bank’ should be bolded and be located on top of the bank image, not below.
The close button of the building list is located and the top right of the pop up window. This is very unconventional. The button should be located at the bottom right instead.
It is a little unexpected to see another pop up window after selecting a building at the building list. Some may think that selecting a building will immediately build the building. If possible the additional information “required to build” should be put on the same window as the ‘Building List’ instead of being in an addition pop up. If this is not possible, the naming of the button ‘Select’ could perhaps be renamed so players will know that there is additional information to view instead of thinking that pressing this will immediately build the selected.
Names of buildings in the buildings list should be bolded. The pictures and the names of the respective buildings should be the first thing the players see on the pop up.
‘Select’ buttons should be vertically centralized beside the images.

2

2

2

3





2

1

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 the action.

Building list should have horizontal divider lines to make it easier for players to match the descriptions with the image. This will prevent them from selecting the wrong buildings. 2
Recognition rather than recall

Minimize 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. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.

Building list pop up window does not reflect how much resources the team has. Because of this the teams will need to try to recall what resources they have when trying to build something. This pop up window should at least have a shortcut to view team resources.

When building is insured, the building on the map should also indicate that it is insured instead of having to click on it then realised that it is already insured.
When the building has already produced its output per round, it should also be reflected on the building image on the map so that players won’t need to recall their actions.

3


3

3

Flexibility and efficiency of use

Accelerators -- unseen by the novice user -- may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.

- -
Aesthetic and minimalist design

Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.

Scrollable window that pops up revealing the team’s resources fills up almost the whole screen however, the about of space actually filled is only the left side. Pop up window shouldn’t have to be that big.

The text in error or feedback pop up messages should be centralized to maintain the user’s focus on the centre of the screen.
The text on the pop up window when depositing or withdrawing money from the bank needs to be aligned properly.
Neater if withdraw and deposit buttons were the same size.
Building list is too wordy. This can be simplified by converting it into a table.
The name of the building should be centralized at the top and bolded as a title in the “Required to build” window when selecting a building in the building list.
The building list should be organised with primary buildings listed at the top and secondary buildings listed below.

2


2

2

1
3
2

2

Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors

Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.

- -
Help and documentation

Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user's task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.

Provide a detailed documentation of all buildings which includes how much resources required to build, how much you get back when you sell the building, its outputs, how much to insure and etc. 2

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