055Usability heuristic
Match between system and the real world
The design should speak the users’ language, with words, phrases, and concepts familiar to the user, not system-oriented jargon.
Why it matters
Interfaces that mirror users’ mental models and everyday language reduce translation cost. Jargon and implementation-centric labels force extra cognitive work and invite mistakes.
What to inspect
- Do labels follow user vocabulary (task-based) rather than database or engineering names?
- Are icons and metaphors recognizable to the intended audience and culture?
- Do flows follow a natural order of steps users would describe out loud?
- Are units, dates, and formats localized in a way users expect?
Common anti-patterns
- Internal codes (ERR_2041) shown without human explanation.
- Developer shorthand in navigation (“Admin”, “Entities”, “Jobs queue”).
- Metaphors that only make sense to the product team.
Critique prompts
- What would a user call this feature if they did not read your docs?
- Where does this screen assume prior knowledge of how the backend works?