CUA Heuristic Evaluation & Expert Review 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which heuristic is violated when a dialog box asks 'Are you sure you want to delete?' without offering an undo option afterward?
- Flexibility and efficiency of use
- User control and freedom (Correct answer)
- Error prevention
- Help and documentation
Correct answer: User control and freedom
User control and freedom requires that users have clearly marked 'emergency exits' and the ability to undo unwanted actions.
Question 2: The heuristic 'Consistency and standards' primarily refers to which of the following?
- Following platform conventions and ensuring similar actions have similar outcomes across the interface (Correct answer)
- Using the same font size throughout the entire application
- Making all buttons the same color and shape
- Applying a single color palette to all screens
Correct answer: Following platform conventions and ensuring similar actions have similar outcomes across the interface
Consistency and standards means users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing — the interface should follow platform conventions.
Question 3: Which heuristic is most directly related to hiding advanced features from novice users while making them accessible to experts?
- Aesthetic and minimalist design
- Recognition rather than recall
- Flexibility and efficiency of use (Correct answer)
- Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
Correct answer: Flexibility and efficiency of use
Flexibility and efficiency of use means the system accommodates both inexperienced and experienced users, often through accelerators like keyboard shortcuts or expert modes.
Question 4: An expert reviewer notes that a form displays a red border on invalid fields but provides no text message explaining the error. Which heuristic is violated?
- Visibility of system status
- Match between system and real world
- Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors (Correct answer)
- Error prevention
Correct answer: Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
Error messages should be expressed in plain language, precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution — a red border alone does not meet this standard.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of a debriefing session after individual evaluators complete a heuristic evaluation?
- To allow evaluators to change their severity ratings based on others' opinions
- To aggregate findings, resolve duplicates, and prioritize issues as a group (Correct answer)
- To train junior evaluators on the heuristics before they begin
- To present findings directly to end users for validation
Correct answer: To aggregate findings, resolve duplicates, and prioritize issues as a group
The debriefing or aggregation session combines individual findings, removes duplicates, resolves discrepancies, and prioritizes issues for the design team.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the 'Aesthetic and minimalist design' heuristic?
- Interfaces should use only black and white colors to reduce distraction
- Dialogues should not contain irrelevant or rarely needed information that competes with relevant content (Correct answer)
- All screens should have the same number of interactive elements
- Animations and graphics should be removed from all business applications
Correct answer: Dialogues should not contain irrelevant or rarely needed information that competes with relevant content
Every extra unit of information competes with relevant information and diminishes its relative visibility, so dialogues should contain only necessary information.
Question 7: In expert review methodologies, a 'pluralistic walkthrough' differs from a standard cognitive walkthrough by involving which additional participants?
- Only domain experts and no usability specialists
- A panel of usability experts, developers, and end users evaluating together (Correct answer)
- External consultants from competing organizations
- Automated testing tools that simulate user behavior
Correct answer: A panel of usability experts, developers, and end users evaluating together
A pluralistic walkthrough involves usability experts, developers, and real users working through tasks simultaneously in a group setting to discuss and rate each step.
CUA Heuristic Evaluation & Expert Review 2
Which heuristic is violated when a dialog box asks 'Are you sure you want to delete?' without offering an undo option afterward?