Designing (Return of the Nine Book 7)

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Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility. Error messages should be expressed in plain language no codes , precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution. 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. I originally developed the heuristics for heuristic evaluation in collaboration with Rolf Molich in [Molich and Nielsen ; Nielsen and Molich ]. I since refined the heuristics based on a factor analysis of usability problems [Nielsen a] to derive a set of heuristics with maximum explanatory power, resulting in this revised set of heuristics [Nielsen b].

Many people ask if they can use these heuristics in their own work.

Yes, but please credit Jakob Nielsen and provide the address for this page [nngroup. If you want to print copies of this page or reproduce the content online, however, please see the Copyright link below for details. Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email. Skip to Main Content. Visibility of system status The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.

Match between system and the real world

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. 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.

Consistency and standards Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Error prevention Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Recognition rather than recall Minimize the user's memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible.

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. Aesthetic and minimalist design Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. 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. See Also Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini's list of basic principles for interface design. The list is slightly too long for heuristic evaluation but serves as a useful checklist. Examples of the 10 heuristics in Web applications. The 10 usability heuristics applied to everyday life just for fun.

Moreover, checks can be made on the appropriateness of the timing of the study in relation to contemporary events such as avoiding farm visits during busy harvesting periods. Preliminary decisions in questionnaire design There are nine steps involved in the development of a questionnaire: Decide the information required. Define the target respondents. Choose the method s of reaching your target respondents.

Decide on question content. Develop the question wording. Put questions into a meaningful order and format. Check the length of the questionnaire. Develop the final survey form. Deciding on the information required It should be noted that one does not start by writing questions. The first step is to decide 'what are the things one needs to know from the respondent in order to meet the survey's objectives? One may already have an idea about the kind of information to be collected, but additional help can be obtained from secondary data, previous rapid rural appraisals and exploratory research.

In respect of secondary data, the researcher should be aware of what work has been done on the same or similar problems in the past, what factors have not yet been examined, and how the present survey questionnaire can build on what has already been discovered.

7.7. Design Example

Further, a small number of preliminary informal interviews with target respondents will give a glimpse of reality that may help clarify ideas about what information is required. For example, in marketing research, researchers often have to decide whether they should cover only existing users of the generic product type or whether to also include non-users. Secondly, researchers have to draw up a sampling frame. Thirdly, in designing the questionnaire we must take into account factors such as the age, education, etc. Choose the method s of reaching target respondents It may seem strange to be suggesting that the method of reaching the intended respondents should constitute part of the questionnaire design process.

However, a moment's reflection is sufficient to conclude that the method of contact will influence not only the questions the researcher is able to ask but the phrasing of those questions. The main methods available in survey research are: Within this region the first two mentioned are used much more extensively than the second pair.

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However, each has its advantages and disadvantages. A general rule is that the more sensitive or personal the information, the more personal the form of data collection should be. Decide on question content Researchers must always be prepared to ask, "Is this question really needed? No question should be included unless the data it gives rise to is directly of use in testing one or more of the hypotheses established during the research design. There are only two occasions when seemingly "redundant" questions might be included: This, however, should not be an approach that should be overly used.

It is almost always the case that questions which are of use in testing hypotheses can also serve the same functions. For example, if a manufacturer wanted to find out whether its distributors were giving the consumers or end-users of its products a reasonable level of service, the researcher would want to disguise the fact that the distributors' service level was being investigated. Develop the question wording Survey questions can be classified into three forms, i. So far only the first of these, i. No answers are suggested. However, open-ended questions also have inherent problems which means they must be treated with considerable caution.

Some respondents need prompting or reminding of the types of answer they could give. This can be time consuming for analysis and there are numerous opportunities for error in recording and interpreting the answers given on the part of interviewers. For example, the question: Such responses need to be probed further unless the researcher is to be confronted with responses that cannot be aggregated or compared. It has been suggested that the open response-option questions largely eliminate the disadvantages of both the afore-mentioned types of question.

An open response-option is a form of question which is both open-ended and includes specific response-options as well. For example, What features of this implement do you like? The advantages of this type of question are twofold: However, if this understanding is achieved the data collection and analysis process can be significantly eased.

Clearly there are going to be situations in which a questionnaire will need to incorporate all three forms of question, because some forms are more appropriate for seeking particular forms of response. In instances where it is felt the respondent needs assistance to articulate answers or provide answers on a preferred dimension determined by the researcher, then closed questions should be used.

Open-ended questions should be used where there are likely to be a very large number of possible different responses e. The mixed type of question would be advantageous in most instances where most potential response-options are known; where unprompted and prompted responses are valuable, and where the survey needs to allow for unanticipated responses.

There are a series of questions that should be posed as the researchers develop the survey questions themselves: Nor will this question reveal the degree of preference. In such cases a series of questions would be more appropriate. What price did you pay when you last bought maize meal? A less biased approach would have been to ask a preliminary question along the lines of, "Did you dislike any aspect of the product you have just tried? For example, consider the following two forms of a question asked of a 'Pasta-in-a-Jar' concept test: If the first version of the question is used, the researcher is almost certain to obtain a larger number of positive responses than if the second form is applied.

In the same way, researchers should strive to avoid long questions. The fewer words in a question the better.

Visibility of system status

Respondents' memories are limited and absorbing the meaning of long sentences can be difficult: Thus it is difficult for the respondent to answer and equally difficult for the researcher to interpret the response. The use of ambiguous words should also be avoided. Some may consider that regularly means once a week, others may think once a year is regular. The inclusion of such words again present interpretation difficulties for the researcher. Respondents may interpret the question in different terms, for example: The researcher needs to specify the 'term' within which the respondent is to answer.

Although the degree to which certain topics are taboo varies from area to area, such subjects as level of education, income and religious issues may be embarrassing and respondents may refuse to answer. One has to bear in mind that not everyone has a good memory, so questions such as 'Four years ago was there a shortage of labour? Putting questions into a meaningful order and format Opening questions: Opening questions should be easy to answer and not in any way threatening to THE respondents.

The first question is crucial because it is the respondent's first exposure to the interview and sets the tone for the nature of the task to be performed. If they find the first question difficult to understand, or beyond their knowledge and experience, or embarrassing in some way, they are likely to break off immediately.

If, on the other hand, they find the opening question easy and pleasant to answer, they are encouraged to continue.

Questions should flow in some kind of psychological order, so that one leads easily and naturally to the next. Questions on one subject, or one particular aspect of a subject, should be grouped together. Respondents may feel it disconcerting to keep shifting from one topic to another, or to be asked to return to some subject they thought they gave their opinions about earlier. Respondents become bored quickly and restless when asked similar questions for half an hour or so.

It usually improves response, therefore, to vary the respondent's task from time to time. An open-ended question here and there even if it is not analysed may provide much-needed relief from a long series of questions in which respondents have been forced to limit their replies to pre-coded categories. Closing questions It is natural for a respondent to become increasingly indifferent to the questionnaire as it nears the end. Because of impatience or fatigue, he may give careless answers to the later questions.

Those questions, therefore, that are of special importance should, if possible, be included in the earlier part of the questionnaire.

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