Heuristics is a term that denotes the use of common-sense rules, gleaned from experience, to solve problems. In computer science, heuristics is the basis of heuristic programming, a branch of artificial intelligence and computer science concerned with programming computers to perform in a human-like fashion.

Heuristic programs are self-learning, meaning that with use they acquire characteristics that improve their performance. The improvement may not always be the best attainable, but it is usually beneficial. Such programs often form the basis of so-called expert systems--computer applications that perform tasks that would otherwise be done by a human expert. Examples of where heuristic programming is used include expert systems for diagnosing human illness, financial forecasting, and scheduling deliveries.

The use of heuristics in computer science involves what have been termed usability heuristics. Jakob Neilsen and Rolf Molich developed these heuristics in 1990. There are generally considered to be ten usability heuristics...