HEURISTIC WALKTHROUGHS - FINDING THE PROBLEMS WITHOUT THE NOISE

Inspection-based evaluation techniques are popular because they requir e less formal training, are quick, can be used throughout the developm ent process, do not require test users, and can result in finding nume rous usability problems. A new technique is described that combines th e benefits of heuristic evaluations, cognitive walkthroughs, and usabi lity walkthroughs. This technique, a heuristic walkthrough, provides m ore structure than heuristic evaluations but less than cognitive walkt hroughs. The result is an effective task-oriented evaluation technique that is easy to learn and apply. Methods are proposed for comparing t he validity, thoroughness, and reliability of evaluation techniques. F inally, heuristic walkthroughs are compared to heuristic evaluations a nd cognitive walkthroughs in a controlled study. The results indicate that heuristic walkthroughs are more thorough than cognitive walkthrou ghs and more valid than heuristic evaluations. In other words, heurist ic walkthroughs resulted in finding more problems than cognitive walkt hroughs and fewer false positives than heuristic evaluations.