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Civic servicesUX researchAndroid & iOS

Finding what breaks before users do

A heuristic evaluation of DigiLocker, the document wallet behind identity checks, travel and official transactions in India.

Method: Heuristic evaluation
Framework: Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics
Platform: Android / iOS native mobile
Task: Accessing and managing government-issued documents

The product

DigiLocker gives 550+ million citizens digital access to Aadhaar, PAN, licences and certificates.

What I did

Audited the core document journey against all ten heuristics, rated severity, and redesigned each failure.

What I found

Ten findings. Six rated catastrophic, four major. Most trace back to hidden navigation and missing escape routes.

00Approach

Critical infrastructure deserves a critical read

When an app is how people prove who they are, a confusing screen is more than an annoyance. I walked the core journey, from home to a document and back, and tested each screen against Nielsen’s ten heuristics.

Each finding has four parts: what I observed, why it fails, a redesign, and a severity rating. Recommendations are grounded in platform guidelines and HCI literature, including Norman, Fitts, Miller and Shneiderman.

01Findings at a glance

Ten heuristics, ten failures

10heuristics evaluated

6findings rated catastrophic

4findings rated major

Heuristic	What breaks	Severity
1 · System status	Profile photo is the hidden way into navigation	Major
2 · Real-world match	A bottom-nav tab launches an external app	Catastrophic
3 · Control & freedom	An overlay with no way out	Catastrophic
4 · Consistency	Two paths to the same options, laid out differently	Catastrophic
5 · Error prevention	Scroll within scroll, and a misleading icon	Catastrophic
6 · Recognition	Every document has the same icon	Catastrophic
7 · Efficiency	Four taps to reach any document, every time	Major
8 · Minimalist design	Empty placeholder circles take up the screen	Major
9 · Error recovery	“Invalid transaction.” and nothing else	Catastrophic
10 · Help	Help is buried three levels deep	Major

H1Visibility of system status

Navigation hidden behind a profile photo

Observation

The profile photo looks like a static image. Nothing signals that it opens “My Profile”. Available actions stay hidden, so people can’t form an accurate picture of how the app is organised.

Redesign

A standard menu icon top-left, a 44×44pt touch target and immediate tap feedback.

Major · Critical navigation hidden without signifiers

Existing

Redesign

H2Match between system and real world

A tab that leaves the app

Observation

The bottom navigation holds a “UMANG” button that launches an external application. People expect bottom navigation to move between sections of the same app. This one switches context without warning.

Redesign

Take UMANG out of the bottom bar. Present it on the home screen as a clearly external link.

Catastrophic · Fundamental platform convention violation

Existing design: the UMANG tab in the bottom bar opens a full-screen install prompt — Existing

Redesign: the redesign moves it to a banner on the home screen. — Redesign

H3User control and freedom

An overlay with no way out

Observation

While viewing a document, the icon beside Share opens a “Select Document to view” overlay. It has no close button, no obvious back gesture and no tap-outside-to-dismiss. People who wanted to keep reading are pushed into choosing another document.

Redesign

A prominent close button, tap-outside and swipe-down dismissal, and a bottom sheet that keeps the document visible behind it.

Catastrophic · Users trapped without escape mechanisms

Existing design: a document view, then the overlay it triggers with no close control — Existing

Redesign: the redesign adds a close button. — Redesign

H4Consistency and standards

Two doors to the same room

Observation

The profile photo opens “My Profile” with quick links to My Account, Nominee and Activity. The bottom “Menu” shows the same options in a different layout. Two entry points, overlapping destinations, different presentations.

Redesign

One navigation hub. Remove the duplicate screen and group the menu by meaning, so each function has exactly one primary path.

Catastrophic · Inconsistency prevents reliable mental models

Existing

Redesign: the redesign consolidates them into one menu. — Redesign

H5Error prevention

A scroll inside a scroll

Observation

The overlay holds a scrollable list inside a static panel, over a screen that also scrolls. Nothing shows which area will respond. The icon’s place beside Share suggests a related action, so people meaning to share trigger document switching instead.

Redesign

Remove the overlay. Switch documents through a single-level interaction, and keep viewing and navigating visibly separate.

Catastrophic · Ambiguous scroll boundaries create interaction errors

Existing design: four states of the overlay, each with a small scrolling list over a scrolling document. — Existing

H6Recognition rather than recall

Every document looks the same

Observation

Aadhaar, PAN and licences all carry the same generic building icon. People must read every label in full, and there is no preview to confirm a choice before opening it.

Redesign

Distinct icons per document type, backed by colour, a long-press preview and thumbnails of the actual document.

Catastrophic · Forces text-reading over visual recognition

Existing design: a search list where every row has an identical icon, beside a redesign with a distinct coloured icon per document type. — Existing

Redesign: a search list where every row has an identical icon, beside a redesign with a distinct coloured icon per document type. — Redesign

H7Flexibility and efficiency of use

Four taps, every single time

Observation

Reaching a document takes four steps: Home, Issued, Select, View. There are no favourites, recents or widgets, so a first-time user and a daily user get the same slow path.

Redesign

A “Quick Access” section on the home screen with pinned and recently opened documents, plus home-screen widgets and app-icon shortcuts.

Major · No efficiency mechanisms for frequent users

Existing design: the three-screen path to a document, and a redesign with a Quick Access card that opens the document directly. — Existing

Redesign: the three-screen path to a document, and a redesign with a Quick Access card that opens the document directly. — Redesign

H8Aesthetic and minimalist design

Empty circles where content should be

Observation

The search screen’s “Most Popular Documents” section shows empty white circles. They could be a loading state, an empty state or a placeholder. They take up scarce space and push real content below the fold.

Redesign

Show the top four to six documents straight away with icons, titles and issuing authorities. Use skeleton screens only while content is truly loading.

Major

Existing design: a search screen with blank sections outlined in red, beside a redesign showing real document cards and state icons. — Existing

Redesign: a search screen with blank sections outlined in red, beside a redesign showing real document cards and state icons. — Redesign

H9Help users recognise, diagnose and recover from errors

“Invalid transaction.”

Observation

The app shows “Invalid transaction.” with no explanation and no next step. People can’t tell whether the network failed, the session expired or the server refused.

Redesign

Name what failed and which document was involved: “Aadhaar Card could not be retrieved from UIDAI servers.” Offer a way to recover, and keep technical detail collapsed for those who need it.

Catastrophic · Complete failure of error communication principles

Existing design: a red banner reading Invalid transaction, beside a redesigned message that names the failure and suggests trying again. — Existing

Redesign: a red banner reading Invalid transaction, beside a redesigned message that names the failure and suggests trying again. — Redesign

H10Help and documentation

Help, three levels down

Observation

Help sits behind Menu, a scroll, then “Need Help”. There is no guidance at the moments people need it, and first-time users get no onboarding. This is hardest on elderly and less tech-literate people.

Redesign

A persistent help button, inline “?” hints beside unfamiliar features, and an optional first-launch walkthrough.

Major