What are heuristics?
Heuristics are simple, efficient rules of thumb that can be used to make assessments. They are based on best practice and experience, and are easy to apply to many situations.
The heuristics used in the intranet review toolkit are based on core principles of information seeking behaviour, human-computer interaction and experiences drawn from training, research and design activities for corporate intranets. The heuristics are not an exhaustive list of all potential intranet issues, but are extensive enough to allow the identification of issues that have the largest impact on intranet usefulness and usability.
Each heuristic in the intranet review toolkit is necessarily quite broad. In assessing an intranet against them, the reviewer will need to make some judgements, including whether the heuristic is relevant for their situation. Some heuristics may not apply to every intranet, and some intranets may not meet all heuristics but still be useful and usable for staff.
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