Heuristic Evaluation Tutorial

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Heuristic Evaluation

• Goal: Identifying usability problems in existing systems

• Checking compliance with a set of usability principles

• Performed individually • Results will be aggregated

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Heuristic Evaluation

• The scope is limited to scenarios • You can go through the interface several times• You should specify: – The problem – The task– The heuristic(s)

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IT security management (ITSM) tools

• IT security management tools are components in the design, development, and maintenance of a secure information technology infrastructure. – Examples: network firewall, intrusion detection

system, identity and access management system• Characteristics of the ITSM environment– Complex, collaborative, people with different

backgrounds

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Example ITSM Tool

• Firewall as a running example• Filtering packet based on certain

characteristics• Firewall use rules for this purpose– E.g. block every connection from 123.123.100.100

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HEURISTICS

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1 – Visibility of activity status

Provide users with awareness about the status of the activity distributed over time and space, including the other users involved in the activity, their actions, and distribution of work between them; rules that govern the activity; tools, information, and material that are used in the activity; and progress toward the activity objective. Provide communication channels for transferring the status of the activity. While providing awareness is crucial, provide awareness only about what a user needs to know to complete his actions.

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1 – Visibility of activity status

Providing communication channelsProvide shared view of the system stateProvide information about who is responsibleDon’t show all the firewall rules

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Security admin

Employee

Firewall

2- History of actions and changes on artifacts

Allow capturing the history of actions and changes on tools or other artefacts such as policies, logs, and communication between users. Provide a means for searching and analyzing historical information.

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2- History of actions and changes on artifacts

- Provide archiving - History of actions- Data correlation and filtering

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Security Admin 1

Security admin 2

Firewall

3- Flexible representation of information

Allow changing the representation of information to suit the target audience and their current task. Support flexible reports. Allow tools to change the representation of their input/output for flexible combination with other tools.

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3- Flexible representation of information

Malicious network activity

What is the source ip addresses?

Total number/month?

Packet analyzer • Different presentation formats or multiple views

• Flexible reporting • Different methods of interaction with the tool• Combinable tools • Customizable tools

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Firewall

ManagerSecurity Admin

4- Rules and constraints

Promote rules and constraints on ITSM activities, but provide freedom for users to choose different paths that respect the constraints. Constraints can be enforced in multiple layers. For example, a tool could constrain the possible actions based on the task, the chosen strategy for performing the task (e.g., the order of performing actions), the social and organizational structure (e.g., number of subjects involved in the task, policies, standards), and the competency of the user.

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4- Rules and constraints

Standards? Organization policy?………

- Allow application of different policies- List actions in hierarchical fashion

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Security Admin Firewall

5- Planning and dividing work between users

Facilitate dividing work between the users involved in an activity. For routine and pre-determined tasks, allow incorporation of a workflow. For unknown conditions, allow generation of new work plans and incorporation of new users.

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5- Planning and dividing work between users

Subdomain A notifications

Subdomain B notifications

Subdomain C notifications• Support workflow• Task prioritization

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Security Admin 1

Security Admin 2

Security Admin 3

6- Capturing, sharing, and discovery of knowledge

Allow users to capture and store their knowledge explicitly by generating documents, web-pages, scripts, and notes or implicitly by providing access to a history of their previous actions. Tools could then facilitate sharing such knowledge with other users. Furthermore, tools should facilitate discovery of the required knowledge source including artefacts or a person who possess the knowledge and provide means of communicating with the person who possesses the knowledge.

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6- Capturing, sharing, and discovery of knowledge

There is a new attack that exploits port 22 ….

- Knowledge sharing - Support scripts- Tagging / Wiki / Social Navigation- Communication channel

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Security Admin in Organization 2

Security admin in organization 1

Firewall in organization 1

Firewall in organization 2

internet

7- Verification of knowledge

For critical ITSM activities, tools should help SPs validate their knowledge about the actions that are required to perform the activity. Allow users to validate their knowledge by performing actions and validating the results on a test system before applying them to the real system. Allow users to document the required actions in the form of a note or a script; this helps the users or their colleagues to review the required actions before applying them on the system.

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7- Verification of knowledge

Test

Real• Rehearsal and planning • Manageable configuration

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Online sources in the internet

Security admin

Nielsen`s HEURISTICS

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1 - Visibility of system status

The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.

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1 - Visibility of system status : example

Firewall rules:Block all connections to the range(192.168.0.1 - 192.168.0.255)Allow connections to 192.168.0.1 port 22

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Firewall Security Admin

2 - Match between system and the real world

The system should speak the users' language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. It should follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.

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2 - Match between system and the real world : example

Firewall rules:eth0 inbound on port 22 block

eth 0eth 1

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Security Admin

3 - User control and freedom

Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undo and redo.

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3 - User control and freedom : example

Firewall rules:A XB XC X

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Firewall

4 - Consistency and standards

Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform conventions and terminology which are familiar to the user.

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4 - Consistency and standards : example

Firewall rules file:eth0 inbound … block

Block all incoming connections on eth 0Block all incoming connections on eth 1Block all incoming connections on eth 2

…

Firewall UI:

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Firewall

Security Admin

5 - Error prevention

Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.

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5 - Error prevention : example

Firewall rules:Block all connections on port 22

Allow connections on port 22 for subnetwork1

Are you sure … ?

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Security Admin

6 - Recognition rather than recall

Minimize the user's memory load by making objects, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the dialogue to another. Instructions for use of the system should be visible or easily retrievable whenever appropriate.

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6 - Recognition rather than recall : example

Write the rule in the following text box:Write the rule in the following:

interface From To Port

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Firewall Security Admin

7 - Flexibility and efficiency of use

Accelerators -- unseen by the novice user -- may often speed up the interaction for the expert user such that the system can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.

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7 - Flexibility and efficiency of use : example

Write the rule in the following text box:

Write the rule in the following:

interface From To Port

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Security Admin

8 - Aesthetic and minimalist design

Dialogues should not contain information which is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in a dialogue competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.

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8 - Aesthetic and minimalist design : example

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Security Admin

9 - Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors

Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.

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9 - Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors : example

Allow connections on port 22 for subnetwork1

• Error• Error 22• Error – rule can’t be added

• Error – Rule is in conflict with the rule number 34• Error – The port number is not valid• Error – The port number should between 1~1024

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Firewall Security Admin

10 - Help and documentation

Even though it is better if the system can be used without documentation, it may be necessary to provide help and documentation. Any such information should be easy to search, focused on the user's task, list concrete steps to be carried out, and not be too large.

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10 - Help and documentation : example

Write the rule in the following text box:Write the rule in the following:

interface From To Port ?

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Security adminFirewall

Firewall UI

IDENTITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The target system for heuristic evaluation

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Identity management system

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IdM System

Identity management systemCertification Process

Notification

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IdM System

VP Sales

Security admin

Employees

System Demo

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