Re: heuristic evaluation - large set - one evaluator

On Dec 12, 2007 2:55 PM, Maciej Kos <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hello,
>

Hello Maciej!

> I would like to perform a heuristic evaluation of a large set of
> websites of the same theme (n>130). Have you come across any similar
> research with only one or two evaluators? I am especially interested
> in methodology.
>

I assume, for lack of a specific reference, and because it is the top
hit on google for "heuristic evaluation", that you are talking along
the lines of:

  http://www.useit.com/papers/heuristic/heuristic_evaluation.html

Which states:

"In general, heuristic evaluation is difficult for a single individual
to do because one person will never be able to find all the usability
problems in an interface. Luckily, experience from many different
projects has shown that different people find different usability
problems. Therefore, it is possible to improve the effectiveness of
the method significantly by involving multiple evaluators."

So, you can do a heuristic evaluation, but the very basis of this
method is telling you that your results will be highly flawed until
you can involve other parties.  Perhaps that doesn't mean that you
can't be the *key* evaluator, seeking input to weigh against your own,
but I think that it can be said that the *cause* of usability is a
direct backlash against the long-running practice of one brilliant
person thinking that they can build an interface that anyone can use
effectively. ;)

Cheers!

J

-- 
Justin Alan Ryan
Interaction Architect, VonGogo Foundation
Volunteer, ASA SF
http://www.bitmonk.net/
* : +1-415-226-1199

"We can't solve problems
 by using the same kind
 of thinking we used
 when we created them."
   -Albert Einstein

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