Heuristics Rules

Heuristics rules are a set of rules that help to evaluate the quality of a user interface design. They are called "heuristics" because they are rules based on experience and formal studies but may not be the best solution for a specific problem. These rules are also there to improve an interface.

As a front-end developer, you will not be asked to design a user interface. However, it is sometimes good to know how them to better understand the work of Ux Designers and communicate with them. Also Ux Designer don't always design interactions in ther interface. It will will be your job to apply these rules in your code.

Jakob Nielsen's 10 general principles

The 10 general principles for interaction design are:

• visibility of system status: The design should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within a reasonable amount of time.
• match between system and the real world: The design should speak the users' language. Use words, phrases, and concepts familiar to the user, rather than internal jargon. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.
• user control and freedom: Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process.
• consistency and standards: Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform and industry conventions.
• error prevention: Good error messages are important, but the best designs carefully prevent problems from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions, or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.
• recognition rather than recall: Minimize the user's memory load by making elements, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the interface to another. Information required to use the design (e.g. field labels or menu items) should be visible or easily retrievable when needed.
• flexibility and efficiency of use: Shortcuts — hidden from novice users — may speed up the interaction for the expert user so that the design can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.
• aesthetic and minimalist design: Interfaces should not contain information that is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in an interface competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.
• help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors: Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no error codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.
• help and documentation: It’s best if the system doesn’t need any additional explanation. However, it may be necessary to provide documentation to help users understand how to complete their tasks.

You can find more information about these rules on Jakob Nielsen's website.

Note: Heuristics rules are general principles based on experience and formal studies. They are not always the best solution for a specific problem. Keep in my mind that a user test is always better than a heuristic evaluation.

Laws of UX

Laws of UX is a collection of the key maxims that designers must consider and must specifically spacing and layouts. It is very easy to understand thanks

The laws are accessible on lawsofux.com.

Other useful references:

• Shneiderman’s Eight Golden Rules