Questions will be in short or extended answer format.
Resources will be provided within the examination, including a list of Nielsen’s heuristics. For 2026, examples of usability principles will be drawn from:
• Mātāpono Māori
• Nielsen’s usability heuristics
• usability concepts such as internal and external consistency, and accessibility.
Candidates will study an interface of their own choice before the assessment. Candidates are expected to write no more than 800–1200 words in this assessment. Further information about digital external assessment can be found on the NZQA website.
The NZQA page has lots more:
Past exams
assessment schedule (the answers)
Exemplars (model answers)
Assessment report (advice from the markers)