057Usability heuristic
Consistency and standards
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform and industry conventions.
Why it matters
Consistency builds predictability. When the same action looks different in two places, users must relearn—and errors rise.
What to inspect
- Do primary actions use one pattern (label, placement, color) across the product?
- Do components match platform conventions where users expect them?
- Is terminology stable for the same entity across screens?
- Do similar layouts share the same information hierarchy?
Common anti-patterns
- Same verb meaning different actions in different contexts.
- Custom controls that break OS accessibility and muscle memory.
- Marketing names in UI that change per campaign without mapping to one concept.
Critique prompts
- Where would a returning user be surprised by a different pattern than elsewhere?
- What here contradicts platform defaults users already know?