STC Usability SIG Newsletter
Usability Interface

Heuristics to Evaluate Online Help

By Donn DeBoard

I was tasked to evaluate online help. However, I had point of reference on which to evaluate content and quality. There is no consensus concerning what criteria constitute good online help. So, I created my own heuristic checklist based on the ISO 9241 standard, which is:

The extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use.

The ISO 9241 standard definition was too broad to be directly applicable to evaluating online help. Additional research ("Using the 5Es to Understand Users," Whitney Quesenbery) was needed to flesh out the ISO 9241 standard. The final heuristic evaluation criteria, using these supplemental principles, were:

• Effective

The completeness and accuracy with users can achieve specified goals. Were the goals met successfully and was the work correct?

• Efficient

The speed and accuracy in which users can complete the tasks in their particular product.

• Engaging

Is the help pleasant and satisfying to use? Is the visual design clean and appropriate to the tasks, users, and context?

• Error tolerant

Does the help system help prevent errors and/or help the user recover from an errors that do occur?

• Easy to Learn

Is the help system easy to learn? Does it build on any prior experience with similar systems?

These criteria helped apply the ISO 9241 standard to online help. I created a set of questions for each category for the person performing the heuristic evaluation with a range of very satisfied to very unsatisfied to not applicable. Each question can have a severity level that can raise significant opportunities for improvement to the foreground. I also allowed for comments and notes from the evaluation. This form helps the evaluator rate each category with a score plus an overall rating for the entire session. I created a summary report based on my evaluations and recommendations for Information Development management and the help authors.