Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics were defined from a factor analysis of the use of a much larger set of usability principles to explain a database of usability problems in development projects. The 10 heuristics in the final list from 1994 had the greatest explanatory power in this analysis, which is why they are still useful today.
https://jakobnielsenphd.substack.com/p/usability-heuristics-history