Heuristic Evaluation
In 2025, I had a unique opportunity to put into practice a technique that is well-known in user experience design literature, but which is difficult to incorporate into the day-to-day processes of a design team. It was a project that I really enjoyed working on and that greatly contributed to my professional growth.
A design team typically relies on a well-structured Design System to work with. It's an important tool for the unity and consistency of the created pieces, but it's also a living thing that needs constant review and evolution,
With this in mind, we set out to create a process to manage the quality of our Design System tool and to stay up-to-date with best practices in web accessibility.
The methodology created to execute this quality and accessibility management was directly based on the heuristic evaluation theory of Jakob Nielsen, a computer scientist with a Ph.D. in human-computer interaction, a renowned expert in quick and inexpensive improvements to user interface, usability, and interaction design, who is a User Advocate and director of the Nielsen Norman Group.
We chose this path because, in addition to being a technique attested by an expert, it was a spontaneous project, coming from the internal team, from employee to employee; it wasn't a client demand, but rather an initiative that would help maintain the day-to-day work of a design team. This meant it also needed to be a low-cost solution.
And it worked very well for what we set out to do.
We took our main work tool and performed heuristic research on it, looking for weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. We reviewed colors, font sizes, contrasts, spacing—everything in minute detail. Documentation, usage recommendations, technical alternatives for users with limitations, possible applications, possible unforeseen states, communication improvements, manuals, etc.
This resulted in a very comprehensive report with direct recommendations for improvements. This paved the way for a new internal quality management process.
