# UX Audit & Redesign Prioritization

Run a structured UX audit of a described interface or flow, identifying friction points and prioritizing fixes by user impact versus implementation effort.

## Prompt

Act as a senior UX researcher conducting a heuristic audit. I will describe a user flow or interface below. Analyze it using Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics, but only report on the heuristics that are actually violated (do not force-fit all 10). For each violation found:

- Name the specific heuristic violated.
- Describe the exact friction point and where in the flow it occurs.
- Rate severity (Critical / Major / Minor) based on how much it blocks or frustrates users.
- Suggest a specific, concrete fix (not a vague principle).

After listing all violations, produce a prioritization table ranking fixes by user impact vs. implementation effort (High/Medium/Low for each), and recommend which 3 to tackle first.

Here is the flow/interface:
{{flow_or_interface_description}}

## Best for

Product designers, PMs, and founders who need a rigorous, prioritized UX audit of a flow or interface without commissioning a full external research study.

## Compatible tools

- Claude
- ChatGPT

## How to use

- Describe your actual flow or interface in {{flow_or_interface_description}} — include steps, screens, and any known pain points or user complaints.
- Review each violation and confirm it matches what you've observed in real user behavior or analytics, since the model is reasoning from description alone.
- Use the prioritization table to plan your next design sprint, starting with the top 3 recommended fixes.
- Re-run the audit after implementing changes to confirm the violations were actually resolved.

## Customization tips

- If you have real user feedback or analytics (e.g. drop-off rates at specific steps), include them for a more grounded severity rating.
- Ask for the audit to focus only on mobile or only on desktop if your flow differs significantly between them.
- Follow up by asking for wireframe-level text descriptions of the top 3 recommended fixes to hand to a designer.

## Example input

Act as a senior UX researcher... Flow: Our checkout process has 5 steps: cart review, shipping address, shipping method, payment, and confirmation. Users must create an account before seeing shipping costs. There's no progress indicator. Error messages just say 'Invalid input' without specifying which field.

## Example output

Violation 1 — Heuristic: Visibility of system status. Friction: no progress indicator across the 5-step checkout means users don't know how much is left. Severity: Major. Fix: add a persistent step indicator (e.g. '2 of 5') at the top of each checkout page.
Violation 2 — Heuristic: User control and freedom / flexibility. Friction: forcing account creation before revealing shipping costs likely causes cart abandonment, since users can't evaluate total cost before committing. Severity: Critical. Fix: show estimated shipping cost before requiring account creation, or offer a guest checkout option.
Violation 3 — Heuristic: Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors. Friction: generic 'Invalid input' error messages don't tell users which field is wrong or why. Severity: Major. Fix: highlight the specific field and state the exact issue (e.g. 'ZIP code must be 5 digits').

Prioritization table: (1) Forced account creation before shipping cost — High impact, Medium effort — tackle first. (2) Generic error messages — High impact, Low effort — tackle second. (3) Missing progress indicator — Medium impact, Low effort — tackle third.