Which is a Better Method of Web Evaluation? a Comparison of User Testing and Heuristic Evaluation

Abstract

Besides recognizing the importance of incorporating usability evaluation techniques in the design and development phase of any user interface (UI), it is also very important that designers recognize the benefits and limitations of the different usability inspection methods. This is because the quality of the usability evaluation is dependent on the method used. Two of the more popular usability evaluation techniques are user testing and heuristic analysis. The main objective of this study was to compare the efficiency and effectiveness between user testing and heuristic analysis in evaluating four different commercial websites. Comparing the proportion of usability problems and the type of problems addressed by these two methods both in the early and later stage of the design process does this. The results showed that both user testing and heuristic analysis addressed very different usability problems and with the exception compatibility and security and privacy problems, where heuristic analysis outperforms user testing, both methods are equally efficient and effective in addressing different categories of usability problems.