Integrating Heuristic Evaluation and UTAUT2: Uncovering Usability Friction and Behavioral Intention in Public EV Charging Infrastructure

Indonesia’s electric mobility transition relies heavily on Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) and complementary applications such as PLN Mobile. This study evaluates the usability of soft infrastructure interfaces and usage intention across both soft (companion app) and hard (physical charging stations) infrastructure, using an Exploratory Sequential Mixed-Methods design that combines qualitative Heuristic Evaluation (HE) and a quantitative UTAUT2-based PLS-SEM (n = 100). HE identified 21 usability flaws based on Nielsen’s principles, revealing severe raw error messages and ambiguous terminology. Structural model results indicated that adoption drivers—Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions, and Hedonic Motivation—had no significant effect on Behavioral Intention. Instead, adoption was influenced by Price Value, Social Influence, and Habit. The findings highlight an adoption pattern shaped by economic value and routine use rather than intrinsic satisfaction, in which severe usability flaws serve as friction points that counterbalance functional drivers. Finally, targeted multi-stakeholder recommendations are outlined for developers, charging operators, hardware designers, and policymakers.