ux-audit

UX Audit

When to Use

When assessing an existing product's user experience before a redesign, after user complaints, or as a quarterly practice.

Core Jobs

1. Heuristic Evaluation (Nielsen's 10)

Evaluate each screen against:

1. Visibility of system status — does the user know what's happening?
2. Match between system and real world — familiar language, not jargon?
3. User control and freedom — easy undo/exit?
4. Consistency and standards — same patterns throughout?
5. Error prevention — does the design prevent mistakes?
6. Recognition over recall — visible options, not memorized commands?
7. Flexibility and efficiency — shortcuts for power users?
8. Aesthetic and minimal design — no irrelevant information?
9. Help users recognize/diagnose/recover from errors — clear error messages?
10. Help and documentation — findable when needed?

Score each: 0 (no problem) to 4 (usability catastrophe)

2. User Flow Analysis

Walk through top 3 user flows:

• Map each step from entry to goal completion
• Note where users might get confused or drop off
• Measure click depth: how many clicks to complete key tasks?

3. Prioritize Findings

Severity × Frequency:

• Critical (score 3–4 + common flow) → fix before next release
• Major (score 2–3 + occasional flow) → next sprint
• Minor (score 1–2) → backlog

4. Write the Report

Per finding:

• Screenshot + annotation
• Heuristic violated
• Severity rating (1–4)
• Recommended fix

Key Outputs

• Heuristic evaluation scorecard
• User flow breakdown
• Prioritized findings report with screenshots
• Top 5 quick wins

Anti-Patterns

• Auditing without real users (adds subjective bias)
• Treating all findings as equal priority
• UX audit without connecting to business metrics
• One-time audit with no follow-up measurement