想快！使用启发式增加使用你的产品

人们有很多艰难的决定作出; 他们是否应该使用你的应用程序或网站来完成任务不应该是其中之一。您的设计团队可以利用我们的人的思想和人的行为的认识由占一些启发，或者心理捷径，研究人员已经确定。

你可能熟悉从启发式评估的UX研究方法的“启发式”一词。启发式评估涉及评估专家系统的基础上公认的可用性最佳实践的界面和交互。忘记了现在。在心理学中，启发式简直就是看中字，意思是精神的快捷方式。我们有这么多的决定，使每天; 没有办法，我们能想到的所有每个选项的利弊。我们的头脑将被重载，我们将停止运作。我们的一些决策成为一种惯性，我们让他们不假思索。我们使用的启发式是常规的或者说我们需要迅速做出很多其他决定。

丹尼尔·卡尼曼和特沃斯基阿莫斯，在经济学领域的两项备受推崇的学者负责大部分我们所知道的启发。1979年，研究人员发表了有影响力的文章在杂志计量经济学（PDF）。研究人员的启发式和决策的思想获得了一致好评，与卡尼曼正在基于这一工作的一部分经济学荣获了诺贝尔奖。

人们经常使用启发式来做出决定 ; 你应该使用它们，你的优势在您的设计。在这里，我们将讨论，研究人员已经确定了四种常见的启发，对如何解决这些在数字化设计的例子。

默认效果

该默认效果是人们倾向不调整默认设置的一款产品。例如，有人购买新的汽车保险政策是最有可能默认为满足最低标准最流行 ​​的策略。为什么他们会花时间成为保险术语的专家时，保险公司已明确标示一个策略为符合标准？同样，有人购买了新的立体声可能不会调整出厂设置。大多数人并不很了解的复杂细节如何调整立体声; 他们会认为是谁建的立体声专家最好设置为默认出厂了。

不占默认效果可能导致用户体验挫折和不便，并选择不正确的选择，例如与家用产品或网站。

除此之外，研究人员已经追平了默认的效果，生或死的后果。默认设置都归功于影响公众健康运动（PDF）。研究人员研究了在有器官捐献欧洲国家的差异默认为选择在那些与默认选择退出。国家的默认选择在有统计学显著高于捐助率，控制其他相关变量的时候。这似乎让人们选择在器官捐赠是作为一个大的障碍使他们选择退出。在这种情况下，使得选择在默认可以被动地挽救生命; 使得退出默认可以做相反的。

怎样的默认效果适用于设计

你的产品的默认设置是关键，用户假设你心里有他们的最佳利益。教育研究所的贾里德线轴上的研究报告，他认为进行用户发现，只有不到5％调整为任意的在Microsoft Word的默认设置。当时，自动保存为默认为无效; 人不积极自动保存他们的工作，因为他们认为这样的功能已经默认为处于活动状态。同样，研究2011（PDF）发现，Facebook用户感到困惑的隐私设置，通常假定他们有更多的隐私默认情况下比它们的确存在。占用户的最佳利益的默认设置时-即使这意味着在编码和设计更多的工作。

每个产品都有独特的需求和默认设置的选项。您的设计团队将需要与用户或潜在用户进行研究。访谈或调查尽可能多的用户能够得到的感觉以下几点：

• 用户承担什么默认设置也还会存在吗？
• 通过这些渠道不承担用户，他们将获得产品更新通知（例如，通过电子邮件或推送通知）？是自动更新的首选默认设置？
• 用户是否认为你的产品是预先设定的消耗最低的功率，或者他们宁愿最快，最耗电的经验开箱？
• 做用户承担自己的岗位或评论，只有某些群体是共享的，或者是公共的职位？
• 不要假设用户产品自动备份定期的信息？
• 将用户希望或需要你来与开箱兼容什么样的产品？你是如何传达给他们看？
• 如何做用户想要的信息要传达 – 其中包括，将用户收到什么默认警报？
• 什么是使用的主要方面？例如，如果您的产品默认为仅接受邀请的模式，如果它是什么，使用户能够与他人分享信息或文件？

你的团队可以使用这些信息来通知的默认设置你的产品，以及为您的产品传达给新用户。您将需要考虑两个问题在你通讯用户：什么样的默认设置是和用户如何改变它们。您可以通过全面的入职经历，一个通过设置采取新用户，并解释默认选项以及如何更新他们做到这一点。您也可以通过您的产品中有效地传递信息和指导做到这一点。

农闲时，团队沟通的平台，提供了如何让用户知道的默认设置以及如何更新他们一个很好的例子。正如你可以看到下面的截图，斯莱克提供了有关这两个中的首节，当产品被用于设置明确的通知。

稀缺性启发式

人们积极地采取行动时，他们认为一个项目的可用性，在数量或时间上的限制。人们喜欢觉得自己是独家组的成员或有权访问的事情，别人会认为有价值。更稀少的东西被认为是，越它被假定为是有价值的，从而促进行动。我们看到这个时候的电子商务网站向我们展示了一个产品的数量是有限的，或者用户的数量有限，将有机会获得一个产品。

如何稀缺启发式适用于设计

你的设计团队也应该寻找机会，提高稀缺用户的感知你的产品的可用性或排他性的。你能提供一个预发布的人谁同意购买最终的产品？如果是的话，可以考虑这样做。你可以提供不同级别的会员或访问到你的产品？一定数量的用户会想享受他们有权访问的特性或功能，别人没有的感觉。你能告诉用户如何你的产品仍有很多？迪克体育用品（如下图所示）是众多电子商务网站如何运用稀缺启发式为例：将出售某些项目在有限的时间。

稀缺性是一个强大的动力让用户在提交您的产品，但它也可能会适得其反。我从那些轰炸我每天的电子邮件推广“24小时只销售”或像无数零售商退订。我不仅从这些电子邮件退订，但在零售商失去了信任。你的用户没有时间或渴望删除日报“24小时仅销售”的电子邮件。向他们发送一封电子邮件，偶尔，也提供了一个真正的限制的交易-或者找到了不同的策略。

朴素多元化

该天真多样化启发式指出，人们往往会做出选择，更加多样化，当多个选项都呈现给他们一次，而不是按顺序。例如，当被要求选择一个选择的十类5糖果，人们会倾向于选择一个品种。在另一方面，当被问及选择中十种每周五周在一排一次一块糖，人们更可能选择同一之一。这种启发式具有何时及如何，我们提出我们的用户的选项重大影响。人们选择他们真正想要的时候被迫做出一个选择，但更随机如果提供该选项。

多么天真多样化适用于设计

朴素多元化是相关的数字化设计，因为人们很容易分心。让他们在工作通过您的相互作用的人性化和集中地。考虑用户的参与与你的产品所期望的结果：你希望他们做一个特殊的选择或多种选择。如果你希望用户做出一个选择，目前他们有一个选择的时间，随着时间的推移。如果你想让他们选择多个不同的或期权，让他们从所有可用的选项一次选择。

活泉，打折商品的网站，专注于一屏信息，当用户创建一个帐户。用户被要求提供在一个屏幕上只有基本的信息开始。厂商可以得到更详细的信息，一旦用户已签署并看到了产品的价值。

提供个性化的体验，注重用户的关注，他们需要的基础上，他们是谁的信息或产品。您还可以通过堆焊根据建议打击天真的多样化亲和力分析和用户过去的行为。亚马逊提供了如何解决天真多样化一个很好的例子; 它试图做的大部分思想为客户时，它表面的各种数据：

• “再次购买它”（以前购买的项目）;
• 先前浏览过的商品;
• 基于当前和过去的购买建议;
• 看看其它用户购买他们购买你正在查看产品时。

用户知道他们将会有一个快速的体验，当他们去亚马逊购买他们观看或过去购买的产品;这让他们回来。事实证明，用户不想去别的地方，一切重新开始一个新的浏览和购买历史。

启发式流利

人们往往在此基础上选择最容易处理做出决定 ; 速度为王。该启发式流畅进场时有人从中间，导致类似的结果多个选项中进行选择。一个例子是有人被问他们喜欢吃的午餐是什么。十件事情可能会想到很快。流畅性启发式表明该人将最终选择了来最快介意选项;他们将分配一个较高的值以这种选择，因为它们可以从存储器最快速地检索它。

另一个例子是去请教别人烤蛋糕的最佳途径。我所想到的解决方案，将最有可能是基于人的经验和偏好。他们可能会看重该选项为最高（或最佳），即使他们随后想到其他（可能更好）的选择，由于速度，他们能够处理原始思想。

什么你首先想到的是，如果你突然感到一阵剧痛在你的胸部，你正在阅读这篇文章：心脏病发作？胃灼热？太多的咖啡？肌肉拉伤？你的第一反应可能会是你考虑的最有效的之一。如果你认为这是一个心脏发作和打电话叫救护车，才发现这是胃灼热，你会觉得尴尬。如果你以为是胃灼热，把抗酸剂，但它竟然是一个心脏发作，你就死定了。你最初的想法很可能会决定你采取的行动。

如何流利启发式适用于设计

流畅性启发式表明，用户会选择他们可以处理速度最快的选项，因为他们会认为这是最好的选择。这讲的需要为您的团队，当你展示他们提供信息和选项，了解查看用户的角度。你需要了解用户当前的参考点，你想在你的设计中包含的功能。您还需要在语言，是免费的行话和容易理解沟通。应用这些原则的领域包括以下内容：

• 搜索
  你是如何呈现搜索结果的用户？他们会假定他们的结果很容易理解优先于其他人。真的吗？难道你的结果突出关键词和短语，使连接到初始查询清楚用户？
• 内容
  是如何呈现的内容和主题？用户将假设内容更易于理解（更快地处理）更重要。目前的内容，很容易为了哄用户更深入探索的话题先了解。另外，不要，例如，用四种字体和四种颜色的同款; 这将妨碍读者的处理信息的能力。
• 更新和提醒
  你如何订购和标题警报？用户会认为他们可以处理的最关键的第一警报。“安全警告”！快处理比“潜在的未经授权的帐户使用情况检测！”
• 导航
  是您导航的层次内嵌主要内容的用户的理解？如果你的网站是关于食物和食谱，你将不包括“食品”为“配方”的子菜单; 你会希望他们既要立即向用户可见。

流畅性启发式对你有怎样的影响推销你的产品。将潜在的用户接收并处理你的产品满足他们的需要的信息？你确信你的产品是第一个想到的是一个解决方案，你设计的问题？用户是否会对您的产品的听证会立即阳性反应？尽量保持你的产品附近所有的评论列表（与积极的评论），以及巩固并列出哪些是可供用户在你的领域的任何其他网站的顶部。联想的用户最快和最简单的选择工艺-最有可能的一个在列表的顶部-作为最好的选择。

流畅性启发式也适用于我们这些对设计团队。我们也可能会认为，想到的第一个选项是最好的。我们有这个验证与用户？如果想到的第一个解决方案是使产品的社会或使其移动为中心，你有什么基础上？你倾向于认为用户希望，来了先在团队会议的事情吗？如果是这样，你需要退后一步，做出更明智的决策。通过测试可用性测试，情境调查和收集潜在用户的直接反馈的其他UX研究方法的想法会帮助我们避免假设最快速处理的想法是最好的。

案例分析：价格

有没有一个放之四海而皆准的所有应用启发式设计解决方案。您的设计团队（包括研究人员和开发人员）工作，以确定哪些启发式最适合您的产品。让我们穿行Expedia的，在线旅游公司，如何成功和失败本文中涉及的商标简短的案例研究。

我经常使用Expedia的研究和工作和休闲旅行的书。Expedia的已经占到了一些启发，使我更容易预订行程。当您在图像中看到下面，Expedia的默认为我的（费城），当我降落在其主页上家机场。它知道我家的机场，因为它让我在入职过程中识别它。否则，我可能不会采取更新我的设置时间。

Expedia的也默认搜索往返航班。我不知道这是基于我的行为，但我相信，我从来没有使用Expedia的做任何事情比预定往返航班等。我不要混用我的航班预订与酒店预订。最后，Expedia的提供了一个默认警报在页面通知信用我有通过其忠诚度计划获得的积分的结果，使用的箱的顶部。虽然我通常不会预定通过Expedia的酒店房间，我可能会做，如果房间是免费的。我不会有我的回报平衡的任何想法，如果默认是隐藏此消息。

Expedia的解决天真多样化下图中至少有两个方面。首先，它默认为预订从我的家乡城市航班到最后我城搜索。这是伟大的，如果我捡，我离开了：我的日期设置，我的位置设置，我不需要任何更多的选择，而我专注于这个航班。不过，我可以通过点击“添加酒店”和/或容易分散“添加了一辆车。”这将带来更多的搜索选项，如果我想我的多样化经验。如果我不回来预订前往哥伦布，我可以浏览到“我的便签”区域和看到所有的我已经寻找了一段时间的航班。这也解决了天真的多样化，让我轻松地保持专注于预订我需要的航班，不迷路幻想着一个奇幻之旅的一些异国情调的地点。如果我是商务旅行和着急，Expedia的满足了我的需要通过专注于天真多样化的启发。

Expedia的地址短缺在许多方面。下图显示了一些销售Expedia的凸显在其主页上的。每个交易被绑定到一个特定的时间框架。“每日交易”说明指出了新的交易每天提供（如果有的话，我同意）。父亲节优惠券是一种促销，以鼓励使用Expedia的应用程序中。不幸的是，Expedia的应用程序遭受许多可用性问题，并从桌面体验断开。我不建议驾驶交通到另一个频道，直到你已经取得了该通道的经验充分发挥作用。

Expedia的产品本质上解决了流畅性。如果没有，Expedia的不会妨碍其市场的机会。Expedia的整合一些航空公司和酒店的网站。用户将认识到易用性，使他们可以在Expedia的网站比较多家航空公司，酒店和汽车租赁提供商独自一人，而不是导航到多个网站为每个类别的行程。

再看看上面的图片，看看你是否能在其中找到解决Expedia的，我们已经介绍了启发式其他方式。你可以发现，Expedia的可以改善他们如何解决任何的启发式什么办法？同样，你也不需要解决每一个启发式的每一个经验，只要方法是无缝的，使一个更好的体验。

结论

我们加强设计的时候，我们降低了用户的认知负担。我们可以通过占启发式做到这一点。启发式不涉及弄虚作假或欺骗; 他们采取的用户和人类行为的理解优势。我们已经讨论了四个多启发，你可以考虑在设计中。查看当前的设计和任何未来的设计，以确定如何你可以解释为一个或多个。另外，尽量承认，你或你的同事可能会使用启发式（例如启发式流畅），在你对用户的假设，并在设计中的功能。

Think Fast! Using Heuristics To Increase Use Of Your Product

People have many tough decisions to make; whether they should use your application or website to accomplish a task shouldn’t be one of them. Your design team can take advantage of our knowledge of the human mind and human behavior by accounting for a number of heuristics, or mental shortcuts, that researchers have identified.

You might be familiar with the term “heuristic” from the UX research method of heuristic evaluation. A heuristic evaluation involves experts evaluating the interface and interactions of a system based on accepted usability best practices. Forget about that for now. In psychology, a heuristic is simply a fancy word meaning mental shortcut. We have so many decisions to make on a daily basis; there is no way we could think about all of the pros and cons of each option. Our minds would be overloaded and we would stop functioning. Some of our decisions become habitual and we make them without thinking. We use heuristics for many other decisions that are routine or that we need to make quickly.

Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, two highly regarded academics in the field of economics are responsible for much of what we know about heuristics. In 1979, the researchers published an influential article in the journal Econometrica (PDF). The researchers’ thinking on heuristics and decision-making was well received, with Kahneman being honored with a Nobel Prize in economics based in part on this work.

People frequently use heuristics to make decisions; you should use them to your advantage in your design. Here, we’ll discuss four common heuristics that researchers have identified, with examples of how to address them in digital design.

Default Effect

The default effect is the tendency for people not to adjust the default settings of a product. For example, someone purchasing a new car insurance policy is most likely to default to the most popular policy that meets the minimum standards. Why would they spend time becoming an expert on insurance terminology when the insurance company has clearly labeled one policy as meeting the standard? Similarly, someone purchasing a new stereo might not adjust the factory settings. Most people don’t know much about the intricate details of how to tune a stereo; they would assume that the experts who built the stereo shipped it with the best settings as the default.

Not accounting for the default effect could lead to users experiencing frustration and inconvenience and selecting incorrect options, such as with a household item or a website.

Beyond this, researchers have tied the default effect to life or death consequences. Default settings are credited with affecting public health campaigns (PDF). Researchers studied differences in European countries that have organ donation defaulted to opt-in versus ones defaulted to opt-out. Countries that default to opt-in had statistically significantly higher donor rates, when controlling for other relevant variables. It seems that making people opt in to organ donation is as big of a barrier as making them opt out. In this situation, making opt-in the default can passively save lives; making opt-out the default can do the opposite.

HOW THE DEFAULT EFFECT APPLIES TO DESIGN

Your product’s default settings are critical; users assume you have their best interests in mind. Jared Spool of UIE reports on a study he conducted that found fewer than 5% of users adjusted any of the default settings in Microsoft Word. At the time, auto-save was defaulted to inactive; people were not actively auto-saving their work because they assumed that functions like that were already defaulted to be active. Similarly, a 2011 study (PDF) found that Facebook users are confused about the privacy settings and usually assume they have more privacy by default than they really do. Account for the users’ best interest when setting defaults — even if it means more work in coding and design.

Each product will have unique needs and options for default settings. Your design team will need to conduct research with users or potential users. Interview or survey as many users as possible to get a feel for the following:

• What default settings do users assume will exist?
• Through which channel do users assume they will receive notifications of product updates (for example, via email or through push notifications)? Is auto-update the preferred default setting?
• Do users assume that your product is pre-set to consume minimal power, or would they prefer the fastest, most-power-consuming experience out of the box?
• Do users assume their posts or comments are shared with only certain groups, or are posts public?
• Do users assume your product automatically backs up information on a regular basis?
• What products will users expect or need yours to be compatible with out of the box? How are you communicating this to them?
• How do users want information to be communicated — including, what default alerts will users receive?
• What is the main context of use? For example, should your product default to invitation-only mode if it is something that enables users to share information or files with others?

Your team can use this information to inform the default settings of your product, as well as to communicate your product to new users. You will need to account for two issues in your communication to users: what the default settings are and how users can change them. You can do this through a comprehensive onboarding experience, one that takes new users through the settings and explains the default options and how to update them. You can also do this through effective messaging and guidance within your product.

Slack, the team communication platform, provides a good example of how to make users aware of the default settings and how to update them. As you can see in the screenshot below, Slack provides clear notifications about settings both within the preferences section and when the product is being used.

Scarcity Heuristic

People are motivated to action when they perceive an item’s availability to be limited in quantity or time. People like to feel they are members of an exclusive group or have access to things that others would consider valuable. The more scarce something is perceived to be, the more it is assumed to be valuable, thus promoting action. We see this when an e-commerce website shows us that a product’s quantity is limited or that a limited number of users will have access to a product.

HOW THE SCARCITY HEURISTIC APPLIES TO DESIGN

Your design team should identify opportunities to enhance the user’s perception of scarcity of your product’s availability or exclusivity. Are you able to offer a pre-release to people who agree to purchase the final product? If so, consider doing that. Can you offer different levels of membership or access to your product? A certain number of users will want to enjoy the feeling that they have access to features or functionality that others don’t have. Can you show users how much of your product remains? Dick’s Sporting Goods (shown below) is an example of how many e-commerce websites apply the scarcity heuristic: putting certain items on sale for a limited time.

Scarcity is a powerful motivator to get users to commit to your product, but it can also backfire. I have unsubscribed from countless retailers that have bombarded me with daily emails promoting a “24-hour-only sale” or the like. I not only unsubscribe from these emails, but lose trust in that retailer. Your users don’t have the time or desire to delete your daily “24-hour-only sale” emails. Send them one email, occasionally, that offers a real limited deal — or else find a different strategy.

Naïve Diversification

The naïve diversification heuristic states that people tend to make choices that are more diverse when multiple options are presented to them at once, rather than sequentially. For example, when asked to choose five candies from a selection of ten types, people will tend to choose a variety. On the other hand, when asked to choose one candy from among ten types once a week for five weeks in a row, people are more likely to select the same one. This heuristic has major implications for when and how we present our users with options. People choose what they really want when forced to make a single choice, but are more random when given the option.

HOW NAÏVE DIVERSIFICATION APPLIES TO DESIGN

Naïve diversification is relevant to digital design because people are easily distracted. Keep them on task by making your interactions as user-friendly and focused as possible. Consider the desired outcome of your users’ engagement with your product: Do you want them to make one particular choice or a variety of choices. If you want users to make one choice, present them with one choice at a time, over time. If you want them to select multiple or diverse options, allow them to select from all available options at once.

Woot, a discount goods website, focuses on one screen of information when users are creating an account. Users are asked to provide only basic information on one screen to begin. The vendor can get more detailed information once users have signed up and have seen the value of the product.

Offer a personalized experience that focuses the user’s attention on the information or products they need, based on who they are. You can also combat naïve diversification by surfacing recommendations based on affinity analysis and the user’s past behavior. Amazon provides an excellent example of how to address naïve diversification; it attempts to do most of the thinking for the customer when it surfaces various data:

• “buy it again” (previously purchased items);
• previously viewed items;
• recommendations based on current and past purchases;
• what other users have purchased when they have purchased a product you are viewing.

Users know they will have a quick experience when they go to Amazon to purchase a product they have viewed or purchased in the past; this keeps them coming back. As it turns out, users don’t want to go somewhere else and start all over with a new browsing and purchasing history.

Fluency Heuristic

People tend to make decisions based on which option is easiest to process; speed is king. The fluency heuristic comes into play when someone has to choose from among multiple options that lead to similar outcomes. An example would be someone being asked what they would like to eat for lunch. Ten things might come to mind very quickly. The fluency heuristic suggests that the person will end up choosing the option that comes to mind most quickly; they would assign a higher value to that option because they can retrieve it from memory most quickly.

Another example would be to ask someone about the best way to bake a cake. The solution that comes to mind will most likely be based on the person’s experience and preference. They will likely value that option as the highest (or best), even if they subsequently think of other (potentially better) options, due to the speed at which they were able to process the original thought.

What would your first thought be if you suddenly felt a sharp pain in your chest as you are reading this article: Heart attack? Heartburn? Too much coffee? Pulled muscle? Your first reaction will likely be the one you consider the most valid. If you thought it was a heart attack and called an ambulance, only to find it is heartburn, you would feel embarrassed. If you thought it was heartburn and took an antacid but it turned out to be a heart attack, you would be dead. Your initial thought will likely dictate the action you take.

HOW THE FLUENCY HEURISTIC APPLIES TO DESIGN

The fluency heuristic suggests that users will choose the option that they can process the fastest, because they will think that is the best option. This speaks to the need for your team to understand the user’s point of view when you present them with information and options. You need to understand the user’s current reference point for the functions you want to include in your design. You also need to communicate in language that is free of jargon and easily understood. Some areas to apply these principles include the following:

• Search
  How are you presenting search results to users? They will assume that the results they easily understand have priority over others. Is that true? Do your results highlight key words and phrases that make the connection to the initial query clear to users?
• Content
  How are your presenting content and topics? Users will assume that content that is easier to understand (quicker to process) is more important. Present content that is easy to understand first in order to coax users to a more in-depth exploration of the topic. Also, don’t, for example, use four fonts and four colors in the same paragraph; that would impede the reader’s ability to process the information.
• Updates and alerts
  How are you ordering and titling alerts? Users will regard the first alerts they can process as the most critical. “Security warning!” is faster to process than “Potential unauthorized account usage detected!”
• Navigation
  Is your navigation’s hierarchy inline with the user’s understanding of each major content area? If your website is about food and recipes, you wouldn’t include “Food” as a submenu of “Recipes”; you’d want them both to be immediately visible to users.

The fluency heuristic has implications for how you market your product. Will potential users receive and process the message that your product meets their need? Have you made sure your product is the first one that comes to mind as a solution to the problem you are designing for? Do users have an immediate positive reaction upon hearing of your product? Try to keep your product near the top of all review lists (with positive reviews) and any other websites that consolidate and list what is available for users in your field. Users associate the quickest and easiest option to process — most likely the one at the top of the list — as being the best option.

The fluency heuristic also applies to those of us on design teams. We, too, might assume that the first option that comes to mind is the best. Have we verified this with users? If the first solution that comes to mind is to make a product social or to make it mobile-focused, what are you basing that on? Do you tend to assume that users want the thing that comes up first in team meetings? If so, you need to step back and make better-informed decisions. Testing ideas through usability testing, contextual inquiry and other UX research methods of gathering direct feedback from potential users will help us avoid assuming that the idea most quickly processed is the best.

Case Study: Expedia

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for applying heuristics to a design. Work with your design team (including researchers and developers) to identify which heuristics most apply to your product. Let’s walk through a brief case study of how Expedia, the online travel company, hits and misses the marks covered in this article.

I frequently use Expedia to research and book trips for work and leisure. Expedia has accounted for a number of heuristics that make it easier for me to book a trip. As you see in the image below, Expedia defaults to my home airport (Philadelphia) when I land on its home page. It knows my home airport because it asked me to identify it during the onboarding process. Otherwise, I’d probably not have taken the time to update my settings.

Expedia also defaults to searching for roundtrip flights. I’m not sure if this is based on my behavior, but I am sure that I have never used Expedia to do anything other than book a roundtrip flight. I don’t mix my flight bookings with hotel bookings. Finally, Expedia provides a default alert at the top of the page informing me of credit I have to use as a result of points earned through its loyalty program. Although I wouldn’t normally book a hotel room through Expedia, I might do so if the room were free. I would not have any idea of my rewards balance if the default was to hide this message.

Expedia addresses naïve diversification in at least two ways in the image below. First, itdefaults to booking a flight from my home city to the last city I searched for. This is great if I am picking up where I left off: My dates are set, my location is set, I don’t need any more options, and I am focused on this flight. However, I can easily diversify by clicking “Add a hotel” and/or “Add a car.” This will bring up additional search options, diversifying my experience if I want. If I don’t come back to book this trip to Columbus, I can navigate to the “My Scratchpad” area and see all of the flights I have searched for over a period of time. This also addresses naïve diversification, allowing me to easily stay focused on booking the flight I need, not getting lost daydreaming about a fantasy trip to some exotic location. If I am traveling for business and in a hurry, Expedia has met my needs by focusing on the naïve diversification heuristic.

Expedia addresses scarcity in a number of ways. The image below shows some of the sales Expedia highlights on its home page. Each deal is tied to a specific timeframe. The “Daily deal” description states that a new deal is offered daily (if so, I approve). The Father’s Day coupon is a promotion to encourage use of the Expedia app. Unfortunately, the Expedia app suffers many usability issues and is disconnected from the desktop experience. I would not recommend driving traffic to another channel until you have made that channel’s experience fully functional.

Expedia’s product inherently addresses fluency. If it didn’t, Expedia wouldn’t stand a chance in its market. Expedia consolidates a number of airline and hotel websites. Users will recognize the ease with which they can compare a number of airlines, hotels and car rental providers on Expedia’s website alone, rather than navigating to multiple websites for each category of travel.

Take another look at the images above and see whether you can find other ways in which Expedia addresses the heuristics we’ve covered. Can you find any ways that Expedia could improve on how they address any of the heuristics? Again, you don’t need to address every heuristic in every experience, as long as the approach is seamless and makes for a better experience.

Conclusion

We strengthen a design when we reduce the user’s cognitive load. We can accomplish this by accounting for heuristics. Heuristics do not involve trickery or deceit; they take advantage of an understanding of users and human behavior. We have discussed four of the many heuristics you can account for in a design. Review your current design and any future designs to determine how you might account for one or more of them. Also, try to recognize where you or your colleagues might be using a heuristic (for example, the fluency heuristic) in your assumptions about users and the features in your design.