What they are
Heuristics are practical rules that help teams judge a design quickly. They do not replace research. They give you a shared language to explain why a choice works.
Nielsen’s 10 in plain words
- Status: show progress, success, and errors
- Real world match: use user language
- Control: easy undo, back, cancel
- Consistency: reuse patterns and labels
- Error prevention: defaults and previews
- Recognition: keep options visible
- Efficiency: shortcuts and clear defaults
- Minimal design: remove noise
- Recovery help: plain errors with next steps
- Help when needed: short tips or links
Quick checklist
- Does a long action show status
- Are labels the words users say
- Is there a safe escape on this step
More reading: NNG Ten heuristics and Laws of UX.