How to use Heurio
Heuristic Evaluation
Run a heuristic evaluation on any live website using Heurio's built-in guidelines — Nielsen, Dieter Rams, Shneiderman, Weinschenk & Barker, and more — directly from the Chrome extension.
How to run a heuristic evaluation with Heurio
Total time: 15 min- Step 1
Pick a heuristic guideline
Open the Book of Guidelines in the Heurio extension and choose a built-in guideline — for example, Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics, Dieter Rams' 10 Principles, or Shneiderman's 8 Golden Rules.
- Step 2
Lock a rule for systematic review
Lock a specific rule (e.g. 'Visibility of System Status') so it's pre-selected on every new heurio. This is the fastest way to walk through a guideline rule by rule.
- Step 3
Pin a heurio on each issue you find
Click any element that violates the locked rule and create a heurio with a note, suggestion, and severity. The rule reference is attached automatically.
- Step 4
Switch rules and continue
Once you've reviewed the website for one rule, change the locked rule and repeat. This gives you complete coverage of the chosen guideline.
- Step 5
Triage and export from the web app
Open the project in heurio.app, sort by severity, assign owners, and export to PDF or CSV for stakeholders.
TL;DR: open the Book of Guidelines, pick a heuristic guideline (Nielsen, Dieter Rams, etc.), lock a rule, and pin a heurio on every element that violates it. Switch rules and repeat.
Heurio provides built-in heuristics to evaluate live websites, helping users identify usability and design issues. This guide explains how to use Heurio for a structured heuristic evaluation.
#What is a heuristic evaluation?
A heuristic evaluation is a method used to assess a website's usability and design by comparing it against a set of established heuristics or principles. It's one of the cheapest and fastest ways to uncover usability issues — no participant recruiting, no test sessions. Heurio incorporates this process by offering built-in guidelines, facilitating comprehensive, consistent evaluations.
Using the built-in heuristics in the Heurio extension.
#How to conduct heuristic evaluations with Heurio
- Reference the relevant heuristics directly by selecting a built-in heuristic.
- Enter your feedback, including:
- Note: describe the issue or area requiring attention.
- Suggestion: provide recommendations for resolving the issue or improving the element.
- Severity: rate the impact of the issue on a 1–5 scale.
- Guideline & Rule: select the relevant heuristic (e.g. Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics — 1. Visibility of System Status).
#Speed up the process by locking heuristics
- In the Chrome extension, users can lock a specific guideline's rule by clicking on the "Book of Guidelines" button in the bottom right corner.
- Select a guideline (e.g. Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics) and then choose the rule (e.g. 1. Visibility of System Status) you wish to lock. The locked rule will be set automatically for your next comment.
- This option is useful for a comprehensive, rule-by-rule evaluation of a website, ensuring thorough coverage.
#Learn more about built-in heuristic guidelines
Visit Heurio's heuristic guidelines hub for a detailed overview, or compare guidelines side by side to pick the right one for your review.
Heurio's built-in guidelines streamline incorporating heuristic evaluation into the feedback process. By referencing established systems directly within the Heurio Extension, users ensure consistent, comprehensive evaluations. The option to lock a rule facilitates a thorough, rule-by-rule review, making heuristic evaluation more accessible and efficient.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a heuristic evaluation?
- A heuristic evaluation is a usability inspection method where reviewers judge an interface against a set of established heuristics — for example, Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics. It's fast, cheap, and uncovers most major usability issues without recruiting users.
- Which guidelines does Heurio include?
- Heurio ships with Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics, Dieter Rams' 10 Principles of Good Design, Shneiderman's 8 Golden Rules, Weinschenk & Barker Classification, Arhippainen's UX Heuristics, Amélie Boucher's Ergonomic Criteria, ISO 9241 Part 110, and Colombo & Pasch's Heuristics. See the full list at /guidelines.
- Can I use my own custom heuristics?
- Yes. Create a custom guideline in the Heurio web app with your own rules — for example, a company-wide design system checklist. See Custom Guidelines for the setup.
- How long does a heuristic evaluation take?
- Reviewing a typical SaaS landing page against one guideline (10 rules) usually takes 30–60 minutes. Locking a rule and walking through the site rule-by-rule keeps you focused and is faster than ad-hoc browsing.
- Can multiple reviewers evaluate the same site?
- Yes — and you should. Heuristic evaluations are most reliable with 3–5 reviewers because each one catches different issues. Invite teammates to the project and have each pin their own heurios; the web app shows everyone's findings together.