How do you check your UX design meets guidelines?

1 UX heuristics

UX heuristics are general rules of thumb that apply to any user interface design. They are based on cognitive psychology, human-computer interaction, and usability testing. They help you evaluate your design for common issues such as feedback, visibility, error prevention, and user control. Some of the most widely used UX heuristics are the 10 principles by Jakob Nielsen, which you can find online. To check your design against UX heuristics, you can use a heuristic evaluation method, which involves inspecting each element of your interface and rating it on a scale of severity.

2 Platform-specific guidelines

Platform-specific guidelines are more detailed and specific rules that apply to a particular operating system, device, or framework. They help you design for the expectations, conventions, and limitations of your target platform. They also help you ensure your design is compatible, responsive, and compliant with the platform's requirements. Some examples of platform-specific guidelines are the iOS Human Interface Guidelines, the Android Material Design Guidelines, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. To check your design against platform-specific guidelines, you can use a checklist method, which involves comparing your design with the official documentation and examples.

3 Benefits of using guidelines

Using guidelines can help you improve your UX design in several ways. First, they can help you avoid common pitfalls and errors that can affect your user's satisfaction, performance, and retention. Second, they can help you create a consistent and coherent design that matches your user's mental model and expectations. Third, they can help you save time and resources by providing you with a clear and reliable reference for your design decisions.

4 Challenges of using guidelines

Using guidelines can also pose some challenges for your UX design process. First, they can be overwhelming and confusing, especially if you have to deal with multiple or conflicting guidelines for different platforms or scenarios. Second, they can be outdated or irrelevant, especially if you are designing for emerging technologies or innovative solutions. Third, they can limit your creativity and flexibility, especially if you follow them too rigidly or blindly.

5 How to use guidelines effectively

To use guidelines effectively, you need to balance them with your own research, testing, and judgment. To do this, it's important to start with your user's needs and goals and use guidelines as a support for user research and testing. You should prioritize the most relevant and important guidelines for your project, while ignoring or adapting the ones that are not applicable or beneficial for your user or context. Additionally, you should use multiple sources of guidelines to compare and contrast them to find the best fit for your design problem and solution. Ultimately, guidelines should be used as a starting point for design iterations and improvements, not an end point.

6 How to learn more about guidelines

If you want to learn more about guidelines, there are many resources available online. You can find official guidelines from platform developers, such as Apple, Google, or Microsoft. You can also find unofficial guidelines from experts, communities, or tools, such as UXPin, Smashing Magazine, or UX Collective. You can also create your own guidelines based on your experience, feedback, and analysis.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?