Introduction

Heuristic seems to be a big word on the vocabulary of Designers optimizer. You hear a lot about heuristics evaluation and some very well-known frameworks. What we don’t know is the reasoning behind for every heuristic.

André created an evaluation framework contemplating the 7 levels of conversions model based on people’s behaviour and motivation, as seen as below:

The first level, which is relevance is related to implicit code (level of perception), the reasoning behind choices and it is connected to first impression. Basically, the part of the brain responsible for making decisions, usually works with implicit codes and seeks first for relevance, which is a personal interpretation (feeling) and lasts 50 milliseconds.

You know when you are searching on Google and basically scan everything with a glance and sometimes opens a website barely reads and close it, because what you are seeing doesn’t really correspond to your needs. That is your brain processing in a simple fashion manner the results and that is why the goal is always to resonate in an emotional level.

That is right, we do judge books by its cover, you are right. Body language or design principles play a major role here. A solution for this first stage it is to use the limbic map, to better understanding your audience. Personas is the technique used to this stage and it is proven to best created when using the limbic map, because it focusses on the 3 core levels of motivation, or, implicit codes:

The implicit code determines the reason why you chose one brand over another when a product has the same function, for instance, buying a travel ticket using a low-cost airline or a VIP one.

The implicit value here could be Dominance, I want to be better than others and the emotional level is Status. Sometimes the answer cannot be found in just a simple core level, you must combine to have a better understanding of the implicit feeling, for instance

To validate the strategy, you can create a A/B test to determine if whether you have chosen the right strategy or not. Another solution for this initial stage is to add a decoy item, which is an alien useless item that makes no sense and you don’t want anyone to buy it to make the best option to stand out and look more appealing for the audience.

The second and third level of evaluation is Trust and Orientation. Why sometimes one website or digital product resonate better than others, why some unknown sites looks literally very unreliable over others. The credibility is related to visuals and information architecture. Research shows that web design plays a key role when deciding between websites.

The key word here is credibility. There are elements that can help the decision-making process. Such as social proof, if there are evidence that supports the decision-making process, people are more likely to choose. Herding is proven to be one of the best elements, simply because people like to follow the mass, that is why influencers and celebrities always sell.

Orientation refers to the position of the elements to help people identify strategic items. Quality is not about quantity, less is more plays a big rule here, paradox of choice is a big problem and feature creep. Therefore, it is important to help people select items, by making it visible when needed. Another suggestion is to apply the decoy effect as a good alternative and make sure to make the CTA stand out.

How to stimulate people to take a step further and make a choice? The stimulation level triggers work with the brain levels, while one will work with reacting fast to an input the other will rationalize. For stimulation, it is required to have the value proposition clear. How can the user or customers be benefited by your brand?

People will analyse many factors, such as price, risk, benefits. This can be split into explicit levels of needs, such as functional, quality, features and on the implicit levels, how can you make the person feel better. How can you materialize this? Using high quality graphics that can show the value proposition emphasized and scarcity | urgency, social proof | herding, that creates a sense of urgency.

A customer-centric is the inner core premises for Security and Convenience. It means that the customers need have been mapped and identified and by doing that you are able to anticipate inner doubts that can become an objection to proceed. A risk zero bias approach is the best way, and can be created by offering F.A.Q., return policy, money-back guarantee, payment options and so on.

And finally, Confirmation relates to feedback, which reduces the bounce rates. Feedback provides reassurance of the steps and outcomes making it easier to the user to proceed. This can be done by using micro interactions or by including inline validation on forms. Guidance is the keyword for this process to encourage the user that you are there to support and help.

The 7 level Heuristic Analysis frameworks created by André Morys outlines the reasoning behind every evaluation level that can enhance the conversion optimization using functional strategic actions. This model uses cognitive psychology and persuasion principles that considers the user motivations.

A customer-centric approach should also take the human inputs to evaluate the strategies and practices behind starting any project.

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