This is the Excel spreadsheet that I use for expert reviews. Create a set of tasks performed by a typical user and then respond to the questions and note the severity of the problems. Some of this is adapted from Jakob Nielsen's original Heuristic list.

1. Page tested (filename
or URL)
Date tested
Start time
End time
Tester name
Tester's Job/Role
Tester phone no.
Tester email
Connection used
(network, dial-up,
ISDN)
Browser used (IE,
Netscape, Opera)
Platform/OS Used
General comments
about the site (after
testing)
How would you rate
the usability of this
checklist?
Do you have any
suggestions for
additions to this
checklist?

2. Severity
Criteria
No. Yes No N/A (0-4)
Visual Presentation and
1 Design
Does the page layout contain
enough open space to not be
1.1 cluttered?
Is the page moderate in its use of
1.2 color?
Is page length appropriate in its
1.3 content?
Does the page provide feedback
whenever possible (e.g., "reply"
1.4 screen for forms-based pages)?
Is the page length two screens or
1.5 less?
Can each page "stand alone"?
1.6
Is the formatting scheme logical
1.7 and standard?
Are row and column headers
1.8 visible for data tables?
Is the site aesthetically pleasing
1.9 enough to keep users interested?
Is the text (size, color, font) on
the background (color, texture,
1.10 etc.) easy to read?
Are the text columns no wider
1.11 than 3.5 inches on your screen?
Do graphic elements (photos,
1.12 images, etc.) match context?
2 Clarity of Communication
2

3. Can you determine quickly the
purpose and features of the
2.1 page?
Can you easily find contact
2.2 information?
Can you easily send an email to
2.3 the contact person?
Are links and icons labeled in a
2.4 way that makes sense?
Are clear instructions given for
2.5 performing processes?
Are FAQs organized by
2.6 category?
Are information and error
messages useful, accurate and
2.7 correctly spelled?
Does the page convey a clear
2.8 sense of its intended audience?
Is the language used in a way
that's familiar and comfortable to
2.9 you?
Are the page title and headings
2.10 short and meaningful?
Is the language kept clear and
2.11 simple?
Are header elements used to
2.12 convey page structure?
Is the target of each link clearly
2.13 identified?
Are acronyms and abbreviations
2.14 defined?
Are the contents ordered in a
logical way (e.g., alpha,
2.15 temporally, spatially,
categorically, or by magnitude)?
Are you provided with a preview
of what will happen or where
you'll go before you click on a
2.16
hyperlink?
3

4. Is information "chunked" into
short, readable paragraphs or
2.17 bullets? page use an "inverted
Does the
pyramid" information structure,
with summary information
2.18 presented first, followed by more
detail? page title accurately
Does the
describe the contents of the
2.19 page?
Navigation
3
Is there a lack of excessive
"page bouncing" where you must
visit several pages to get the
3.1
information you need?
Is there a link to a site map, site
index or list or commonly
3.2 accessed sections?
Is hyperlinking used frequently,
to prevent large pages from `
3.3 being` downloaded?
Is there a clear and obvious link
3.4 to the home page?
Is the navigation flow consistent
3.5 and logical?
Does the page use
(approximately) standard link
3.6
colors?
Are the links obvious in (i.e.,
clearly labeled for) their intent
3.7 and destination?
Is there a convenient, obvious
way to maneuver among related
pages, and between different
3.8
sections?
Are meaningless links avoided?
3.9
Are links provided to other
3.10 relevant pages?
4

5. Are links provided to more in-
3.11 depth coverage of information?
Are navigational aids provided on
both the top and bottom of each
page (if page is longer than one
3.12
screen in length)?
Is this page easy to find from
3.13 other pages?
Can you search the entire site
3.14 from this page?
Does the site avoid "orphaned"
3.15 pages?
Does the page avoid the need to
3.16 scroll horizontally?
Is there a "you are here" visual
3.17 cue?
Does all underlined text link to
3.18 something else?
3.19
Consistency
4
Is the page visually consistent in
its "look and feel" with other
4.1 pages?
Is the page visually consistent
4.2 even without graphics?
Are navigation elements used
4.3 consistently?
Accessibility
5
Are graphics optimized to
5.1 download quickly?
5

6. Can a user navigate using text
5.2 only?
Are response times fast enough
5.3 to keep you in a flow state?
Does the page allow mistakes to
5.4 be easily undone?
Is load time appropriate to
5.5 content, even on a dial-up?
Is there a text equivalent for
every non-text element? (e.g.,
image map regions, animation
5.6
scripts, audio and video)
Is the text readable by people
with color blindness?
5.7
Are ALT attributes used to
describe images?
5.8
General/Other
6
Is there a "printer friendly"
6.1 version for this page?
Are all links active (live)?
6.2
Do all CGI scripts work?
6.3
Does every form have a
6.4 function?
Do you immediately see the
6.5 results of your actions?
6

7. 7

8. Comments/Suggestions for Improvement
8

9. 9

10. 10

11. 11

12. 12

13. 13

14. Heuristic Principle Severity
Met Violated N/A (0-4) Comments/Suggestion to Remedy Problem
1. Organize data into meaningful framework.
Organize the user interface purposefully, in
meaningful and useful ways that put related things
together and separate unrelated things based on
clear, consistent (conceptual) models or site
metaphors that are apparent and recognizable to
others.
1.1 Keep all needed options and materials for a
given task visible without distracting the user with
extraneous or redundant information.
1.2 Instead of cramming everything about a product
or topic into a single page, use hypertext to structure
the content space into a starting, overview page and
several secondary pages that each focus on a
specific topic. Help users avoid wasting time on
subtopics that don’t concern them.
1.3 Recognize that users rarely read Web pages
word by word; instead, they scan the page, picking
out individual words and sentences. Use lists,
headings, and other HTML formatting tools to help
users find the information that suits their needs.
2. Visibility of system status: Keep users informed
about what is going on, through appropriate
feedback within reasonable time.
2.1 Structure helps users navigate. Without
structural links, pages are orphaned in cyberspace.
Provide users with a path to higher levels of
navigation and content. (example: breadcrumbing)

15. 2.2 Accommodate and support user-controlled
navigation. Do not force users through set paths.
Make alternate paths easy to follow, consistent, and
logical.
2.3 Provide feedback by keeping users informed of
actions or interpretations, changes of state or
condition, and errors or exceptions using clear,
concise, and unambiguous language familiar to
users.
3. Match between system and the real world: Speak
the users’ language, with words, phrases and
concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-
oriented terms. Follow real-world conventions,
making information appear in a natural and logical
order.
3.1 Avoid using technical, scientific or legal
language. On main pages of the site, create content
that can be understood by a general audience.
3.2 Provide a simple process for completing simple
tasks.
3.3 When creating your site’s navigation, do not
simply copy your organization’s structure. Create a
navigation design and options that reflect user tasks
on your site.
4. User control and freedom: Be flexible and tolerant,
reducing the cost of mistakes and misuse by
allowing undoing and redoing while preventing
errors wherever possible by tolerating varied inputs.
Provide users with a clearly marked "emergency
exit" to easily recover from mistakes.

16. 4.1 Don’t disable the Back button on a browser by
opening a new window or using an immediate
redirect. The Back button is the second-most used
navigation feature (after following hypertext links).
Users know that they can try anything on the Web
and then click on the Back to return to familiar
territory.
4.2 Help users recognize, diagnose and recover
from errors by providing error messages that are
written in plain language (not code), clearly indicate
the problem, and constructively suggest or provide a
solution.
5. Consistency and standards: Reduce the need for
users to rethink and remember by reusing internal
and external components and behaviors, maintaining
consistency with purpose rather than merely
arbitrary consistency. Follow platform conventions.
5.1 Do the same as everybody else. If most big Web
sites do something in a certain way, then follow
along. Users will expect things to work the same way
on your site.
5.2 Avoid using HTML that does not comply with
standards or causing the user’s browser to engage
in a nonstandard behavior.
6. Error prevention: Even better than a good error
message is a careful design which prevents a
problem from occurring in the first place.
6.1 Use link titles to provide users with a preview of
where each link will take them, before they have
clicked on it. Help them avoid waiting for
unnecessary page downloads.

17. 6.2 Avoid link-rot by keeping pages up indefinitely
once they have been put on the Web or provide
redirect messages and auto-redirect capabilities.
Other sites may link to your page. Users may have
bookmarked the page because they want to go
directly to a relevant part of your site. Search
engines are slow in updating their databases, so
they too will lead users astray if you remove pages.
6.3 Avoid using a new technology if you suspect that
a large percentage of your users have not adopted
the new technology.
7. Recognition rather than recall: Make objects,
actions, and options visible. The user should not
have to remember information from one part of the
dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the
system should be visible or easily retrievable
whenever appropriate.
7.1 Provide search if the site has more than 100
pages.
7.2 Write straightforward and simple headlines and
page titles that clearly explain what the page is
about and that will make sense when read out-of-
context in a search engine results listing.
7.3 Structure the page to facilitate scanning; for
example, use grouping and subheadings to break
content into smaller "chunks."
7.4 Page titles, headlines, and subject lines needs
to clear and succinct. You only get 40-60 characters
to explain your content. Unless the title or subject
makes it absolutely clear what the page or email is
about, users will never open it.

18. 8. 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. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.
8.1 Create the default interface as simple as the task
will allow, offering more powerful features available
to intermediate or expert users through customizable
interfaces, keyboard shortcuts or other subtle
mechanism. (an example: provide a basic search on
every page with a link to an advanced search option
for those who want to use it).
9. Aesthetic and minimalist design: Include in the
displays only the information needed by the user at
that given time/place. Every extra unit of information
in a display competes with the relevant units of
information and diminishes their relative visibility.
9.1 When designing for the Web, download speed
must be the overriding criterion. To keep page sizes
small, graphics should be kept to a minimum, and
multimedia effects should be used only when they
can add to a user’s understanding of the information.
Keep it simple.
9.2 Split long pages of text into multiple pages,
connected with hyperlinks. Each "chunk" of content
should cover a specific topic. No more, no less.
9.3 Avoid creating huge scrolling pages of text; as
they move down the page, users will no longer be
able to see navigation options. or….

19. 9.4 Practice judicious redundancy. For example, on
a long page with a lot of content, repeat the
navigation that disappears as the user scrolls down.
10. Help and documentation: Any Help or
documentation should be easy to search, focused on
the user’s task, list concrete steps to be carried out,
and not be too large.
10.1 When writing documentation, provide multiple
examples to help the user contextualize their
problem.
10.2 When designing help, begin with “how do I…”
for topics that show the user how to accomplish a
task.

20. Please read each statement
carefully and check a number
from 1 to 7,
where "1" means you strongly
disagree with the statement and
"7" means you strongly agree
with the statement.
Strongly Strongly
Statement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 N/A
Disagree Agree
The site satisfied the needs of
various audiences.
The site was easy to use.
The site was useful.
The site provided material
appropriate for the audiences.
The site did everything I expected
it to do.
The fewest steps possible were
required to accomplish each task.
I was able to use the site
successfully.
With a little practice, I could
become skillful with the site.
The site used words and phrases
that were familiar to me.
Content was presented in an
intuitive and logical manner.

21. I didn't wonder whether words or
buttons on the same page meant the
same thing.
I didn't have to remember
information on one page in order to
successfully accomplish something
on another page.
Content provided by the site was
relevant to my needs.
I would recommend a site like this
one to a friend or family member.

22. Heuristic Ratings
0 I don't agree that this is a usability problem.
1 Nominal problem only -- fix if time permits or if changing other things at that location
2 Minor usability problem -- fixing this should be given low priority.
3 Major usability problem -- important to fix, so should be given high priority.
4 Usability catastrophe -- imperative to fix this before product can be released.