Usability Heuristic Evaluation of HOYTS Website: A Report

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Contents
TASKS.............................................................................................................................................2
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................10
Appendix........................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................19
Figure 1: Violation of Principle 1....................................................................................................2
Figure 2: Principle 2........................................................................................................................3
Figure 3: Principle 3........................................................................................................................4
Figure 4: Violation of Principle 4....................................................................................................5
Figure 5: Principle 5........................................................................................................................6
Figure 6: Violation of Principle 6....................................................................................................6
Figure 7: Violation of Principle 7....................................................................................................7
Figure 8: Violation of Principle 8....................................................................................................8
Figure 9: Principle 9........................................................................................................................9
Figure 10: Principle 10....................................................................................................................9
Figure 11: Rule 1...........................................................................................................................12
Figure 12: Rule 2...........................................................................................................................12
Figure 13: Rule 3...........................................................................................................................13
Figure 14: Rule 4...........................................................................................................................13
Figure 15: Rule 5...........................................................................................................................14
Figure 16: Rule 6...........................................................................................................................14
Figure 17: Rule 7...........................................................................................................................15
Figure 18: Rule 8...........................................................................................................................15
Figure 19: Rule 9...........................................................................................................................16
Figure 20: Rule 10.........................................................................................................................16
Figure 21: Sign up screen..............................................................................................................17

Figure 22: Movie Info screen........................................................................................................17
Figure 23: Ticket screen................................................................................................................18

TASKS
TASK 1
Visibility of the status of the system
The status of the system refers to the heuristic principle. The below-mentioned points are about
the page:
a) The main issue with the page is that it shows the buffering and not the actual status. This
issue can lead the user in confusion as he will not be aware of the complete part. This will
also make him/her think that whether it will get complete or not so this is violating the
first heuristic principle.
b) The page does not provide with the clear vision of the status of work leading the user to
think twice about the completion of work.
c) The issue is not major as it can be resolved easily by adding the numerical representation
for the completion of the work.
d) For resolving this issue, the solution that we can provide the screen with the
representation that is a numerical mean percentage of the complete part can be
mentioned.

Figure 1: Violation of Principle 1
Match between system and real world
It is the second principle of the heuristics. The points mentioned are:
a) The page does not give the proper understanding to users because the sign up is
replaceable “by the member to get entertained with HOYTS”
b) It does not give the proper understanding to the user as the user will get confused.
c) It is not the major problem because it can be easily resolved just by replacing the signup
button.
d) For resolving this issue, sign up can be replaced by “be a member to get entertained with
HOYTS”
Figure 2: Principle 2
User control and freedom
It is the next heuristic principle. The below points are about the below page:
a) The problem is that it doesn’t provide the message for an alert at the time of entering the
details for making the online payment which can lead the users to feel betrayed.

b) The alert message is necessary for the confirmation as it can make the user aware that
he/she has entered the wrong credentials for making the payment through the online
transaction.
c) This is the major issue and needs to be resolved immediately.
d) To resolve this issue, the proper and clear message should be added that can ask for the
confirmation before any further step.
Figure 3: Principle 3
Consistency and standards
It is the fourth heuristic principle. The below-mentioned points are about the page:
a) There are different buttons on the page, but they are no equally dimensioned making the
website look complex (Walsh et al., 2019).
b) This does not look for the working website as it should look equally aligned. Hence, this
is the major problem which can lead the user in the state of confusion.
c) This is not a big issue because it can be easily resolved.
d) For resolving this issue, proper and clear alignments of the buttons should be done to
make the website simpler and attractive.

Figure 4: Violation of Principle 4
Error prevention
It is the next heuristic principle. The pints are mentioned below regarding this page:
a) While entering the email id the proper message is not produced so that the user can get
aware that he/she has entered the right mail id or not (Hermann et al., 2016).
b) The problem is that it does not show the error message at the time of the wrong entry of
the credentials. This leads the user in the state of confusion if their account does not get
open at once.
c) This is not a big issue as it can be resolved easily just by adding some of the extra efforts
in resolving the issue.
d) For resolving this issue, a proper and clear message should be provided with clear data
about the error to the user.

Figure 5: Principle 5
Recognition rather than a recall
It is the next heuristic principle. The below-mentioned points are regarding this page:
a) The page does not have any search option which can make the user confused and the user
will also not find any help when they got stuck somewhere (Atashi et al., 2016).
b) This is the problem as it does not provide the option of search to the user.
c) This problem needs to resolve immediately as it is considered to be the biggest issue.
d) For resolving this issue, the icon for the search option needs to provide to make the user
make their search easy.
Figure 6: Violation of Principle 6

Flexibility and efficiency of use
This is the next heuristic principle. The below-mentioned points are regarding this page:
a) The problem is that it does not give the proper documentation and details for the
application’s use which can be the issue for the novice users (Silva et al., 2015).
b) This is the problem because the novice user can face the problem of navigating the
website.
c) This is not a major issue because it can be easily resolved just by adding the
documentation.
d) For resolving the issues, the proper and clear guidelines should be given in the simplest
language which can be easily understood by the users.
Figure 7: Violation of Principle 7
Aesthetic and minimalist design
It is the next heuristic principle. The below-mentioned points are about the page below:
a) The problem is that the stuff on the webpage is very much which is making the webpage
complex and confusing for the users.
b) This is the problem there is much information which is creating a lot of confusion to the
users.

c) It is a big issue and needs to be resolved by making the website simple and attractive.
d) For resolving this issue, there should be a proper distribution of the information on the
page keeping in mind that the entire information is covered.
Figure 8: Violation of Principle 8
Help user recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
This is the next heuristic principle. The below-mentioned points are about the page given below:
a) The problem is the error message is incomplete and does not provide with the detailed
information which makes the user confused.
b) This is considered as a problem because the user does not understand properly about the
displayed message.
c) This is the minor issue and not as big as it can be easily resolved with the help of the help
boxes and proper messages.
d) For resolving the issue, the screen should display the proper message with the
information of the encountered issue and the steps to rectify such an issue (Hanson,
2019).

Figure 9: Principle 9
Help and documentation
This is the next heuristic principle. The points regarding this page are mentioned below:
a) The man issue with the website is that it does not provide the help icon to the users which
can be useful for the clients to resolve their issue if they stuck somewhere.
b) This is the problem as this make the user confused while struggling to make their
problem resolved.
c) This is not the major problem but the minor issue because it can be resolved easily.
d) For resolving this issue, the help button or the icon should be provided so that the user
can go through that icon whenever they struggle to find any problem.

Figure 10: Principle 10
TASK 2
Recommendations
Problem 1: Loading screen issues
Answer: in part one of task 1, the screen is unable to follow the heuristic principle of visibility
of system status. This is the issue in which the amount of taken time is not clearly mentioned but
the shown part is buffering. The issue can be resolved easily just by adding the proper screen to
the website. It is shown in the Appendix. The solved issue provides the proper and clear idea
regarding the completion of the work in the form of a percentage.
Problem 2: Regarding the clear and proper understanding through messages
Answer: in part two of task 1, the screen does not follow the heuristic principle which says that
there should be a match between system and the real world. This is because the message is not
provided properly and does not give clear information. The information provided is complex and
is not in the simplest language that can be easily understood by the user. This issue is resolved by
making a replacement of the sign up with the “be a member to get entertained with HOYTS”.
The solution to this problem is given in the Appendix.
Problem 3: Providing alert messages properly

Answer: in part three of task 1, the screen does not follow the heuristic principle of user control
and freedom because the user is unable to get the alert message properly. This is the problem
which can be resolved by providing the message box for the alert so that the user can give the
confirmation regarding the further step. The issue resolved is given in the Appendix.
Problem 4: Consistency should have in the design
Answer: In part four of task 1, the screens are not following the standards of the consistency
according to the principle of heuristics and are not consistent. This is because the text boxes and
buttons used are not of the same type and does not follow consistency. This problem of
consistency is resolved by making the buttons equal and consistent. For the reference of the
solution of this issue is provided in the Appendix.
Problem 5: Error messages should be provided
Answer: in part five of task 1, the screen is unable to follow the heuristic principle of error
prevention because the message is not generated at the time of entering the incorrect information.
The problem can be resolved by having a solution of creating a screen that can produce the
proper message at the time of the wrong entry of the information. The message should be able to
make the user aware that where they are going wrong and how to prevent the error from being
repeated. The solution is provided in the Appendix.
Problem 6: Search option is missing
Answer: This principle is related to the search option that is missing in the design that is given
so here by creating a new design, the addition of the search option in the form of location bar is
given that means the user can search the location according to its requirements as there may be
many cinemas located at different places. So in the new design, this principle is also included.
Problem 7: Must be flexible to use
Answer: The application that is given is not as much flexible as it seems so the new design that is
created is flexible and easy to use that contains some alert boxes as well which provide the user to
save from any mistake that can occur accidentally. It can be seen that the new design contains an alert