Bullseye!!

Additional notes to evaluator: please conduct an expert review of the applications at bullseye! Flash and bullseye! SVG, after an initial examination of the applications read the scenario and review the tasks that will be undertaken with respect to each heuristic. Please note any problems, along with the appropriate heuristic below. Assign a value of 1 to 3 to each problem, 1 being minor, 3 being severe. Also note any comments and proposed solutions. It is appropriate e to conduct the evaluation in both a relative and absolute manner. That is the applications can be evaluated against an absolute standard of acceptability that you as usability experts have. Additionally the applications can be evaluated with respect to each other, especially where any differences are significant.
Please remember that is it the overall usability of the formats (Flash and SVG) that is being evaluated, not the entertainment value of the game.
To ensure consistency please use a computer with Adobe SVG viewer 3 and a computer with approximately 1GHz processing power and at least 256Mb memory.

Stuart, a senior executive in a stockbroking firm, likes to relax by playing computer games. One of his favourites is ‘Bulls Eye’. One evening he arrives home after a difficult day, sits down at his computer and loads ‘Bulls Eye’.

Stuart reads the brief introduction/instructions, explaining how to play the game and that there are three levels of difficulty:

· Easy; 5 targets traverse the screen over a period of approximately a minute, always from left to right.
· Harder; 10 targets traverse the screen over a period of approximately a minute, from left to right then right to left and so on.
· Hard; 15 targets traverse the screen over a period of approximately a minute, randomly, from left to right or right to left and at increasing speeds.

Stuart clicks the ‘Harder’ button. The screen shows a crosshair on a grass area with a target traversing from the left. Using the mouse Stuart adjusts the aim. He is aiming at a target that traverses the screen from left to right. Stuart, at a point of his choosing clicks the mouse to fire.

If the aim is correct the target is hit. Stuart aims well and hits the circle adjacent to the bull (making a sound) scoring 50 points. Already the next target is traversing from the right; Stuart aims and fires again. After 10 targets have traversed the screen, the game returns to the initial display, which also shows the score of the previous game.

1. Application should render within a reasonable time (that is download and display initial screen).
2. Application should operate sufficiently smoothly that it does not affect the user experience.
3. Application should respond to user input correctly.
4. User should remain in control.
5. Match between system and real world: the application should use natural language, making information appear in a natural flow.
6. The user should at all times be clear as to what they are expected to do, including using a help facility or similar.
7. Minimalist design: site should be simple, in order to minimize memory load and make use of recognition rather than recall (users should not have to remember information from one part of the site to another), every word should count.
8. Consistency: the same conventions for style and layout should be used throughout the site.
9. Progressive levels of detail: more general information should appear before detailed information, so the user can delve only as deeply as is wished.

Heuristics 1 to 4 are highlighted as they are directly related to the format. The remainder relate more to the interface design, but are included to ensure that faults related to the format are isolated from interface design issues.