{"id":12477,"date":"2019-08-14T09:05:15","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T14:05:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/?p=12477"},"modified":"2019-08-14T09:05:15","modified_gmt":"2019-08-14T14:05:15","slug":"usability-testing-procedure-tasks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/usability-testing-procedure-tasks\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide To Usability Testing Procedure And Creating Tasks For Successful Usability Testing"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 17<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to qualitative research techniques used in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/cro\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conversion Rate Optimization<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, there are quite a few that give a good amount of insights on user reactions and feedback. One such method is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/usability-design-for-a-better-user-experience\/\">usability testing<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, as Ayat stated in her article titled <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/9-tips-to-conducting-accurate-qualitative-research\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9 Tips to Conducting Accurate Qualitative Research<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">qualitative research is only as good as the process and goals behind it<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coming up with the who, what, where, and how for the test is anything but simple. This might just be the reason why even the most experienced <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/usability-testing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">usability researchers often realize a mistake halfway<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> through the test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usability testing calls for proper research before the ultimate test. There is a great need to define the scope of your test, define the goals and design relevant tasks for the test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goals are much more like the oxygen tank of any usability test, but it is the tasks that give direction and support. So understanding the usability goals is the first step towards coming up with effective tasks for the test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having said that, this article will dig deeper into the usability tasks and the procedure of usability testing, in particular:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measuring usability tasks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Types of usability tasks.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What makes a good usability task?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Steps involved in designing usability tasks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But before we delve into the heart of the matter, let\u2019s start by defining tasks in the context of a usability test.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12479\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/2-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"460\" data-wp-pid=\"12479\" \/><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usability tasks: defined\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/usability-design-for-a-better-user-experience\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usability<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tasks can be simply referred to as assignments given to participants during a usability test. They can either be an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/help.usertesting.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115003371651-Writing-great-tasks\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">action or activity you want your participants to indulge in<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> during the test.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I think of tasks as stepping stones that participants have to take in order to make progress towards accomplishing the goal of the usability test. A usability goal can be defined as the purpose of your test. The most <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cs.umanitoba.ca\/~umdubo26\/COMP3020\/lecture3_UsabilityGoals.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">common usability goals<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are as follows:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Effectiveness\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Efficiency\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learnability\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Memorability\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Satisfaction<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Errors.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For usability tasks to be more understandable to your users, they have to be accompanied by scenarios \u2014these are essentially stories that provide context and description that helps users interact with your product or service so as to complete the given tasks. Simply put, they help users perceive the purpose of the tasks they have to perform.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/aycl.uie.com\/virtual_seminars\/designing_with_scenarios_putting_personas_to_work\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kim Goodwin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> gives an extremely good description of scenarios in user testing:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scenarios are the engine we use to drive our designs. A scenario tells us WHY our users need our design, WHAT the users need the design to do, and HOW they need our design to do it.<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12480\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-1-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"805\" data-wp-pid=\"12480\" \/><\/div>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Example<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Scenario<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: You are supposed to board an international flight to London next week on Wednesday to visit a friend and you are planning to return on Sunday evening. To book a flight, you have to use a credit card.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the above scenario, the <\/span><b>goal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the researcher may be to find out the severity of the errors that users make when trying to book a flight using a credit card as a means of payment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Drawing from the same scenario, the researcher may ask users to perform these tasks:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 1. Sign up\/login on the website<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 2. Enter the destination\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 3. Enter the date range<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 4. Make a booking\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 5. Review your booking.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 6. Make a payment.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you can see from the above example, tasks are arranged in a sequence that spurs participants into making a booking using a credit card. No matter the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/usability-testing-on-a-budget\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">type of a usability test<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the results accuracy is impacted by the structure of tasks.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measuring tasks for a usability test\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each usability task can be assessed for effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. Ayat published an article titled <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/usability-metrics\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usability Metrics: A Better Usability Approach<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and gave out these six metrics used\u00a0 in measuring a usability task:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Task success<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rate\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Time-based efficiency\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Error rate\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overall relative efficiency\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Post-task satisfaction<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Task level satisfaction<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Task success rate<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12481\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-1-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"453\" data-wp-pid=\"12481\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being one of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@tsharon\/measuring-task-success-6ed2ffba9eee\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">most fundamental usability metrics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, task success rate or completion rate refers to the percentage of tasks that users were able to successfully complete. This metric is measured at the end of the test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every researcher\u2019s aim is for the success rate to be 100%, as it is the bottom line of every usability test. So in every usability test, the higher the task success rate, the better.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/measuringu.com\/task-completion\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, based on an analysis of 1,100 tasks, showed that the average task success rate is 78%. In the same study, it was also concluded that the task success rate depends on the context in which the task is being evaluated.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The task success rate is calculated using this simple formula:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12482\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/2-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"413\" data-wp-pid=\"12482\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Image Source: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.everyinteraction.com\/articles\/5-ux-kpis-need-track\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every Interaction\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As easy to understand and calculate as the task success rate is, but what if a user partially completes a task, how then do you classify that? Do you consider it as a success or a failure?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This makes the scoring more subjective, what other evaluators may consider as success may be allotted as a failure to others. There is no right or wrong rule when it comes to this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/success-rate-the-simplest-usability-metric\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jakob Nielsen<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, says that although this depends on the magnitude of error, there is usually no firm rule when it comes to scoring the partial success.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But to make it as accurate as possible, each task has to have precise details about how to score success and what determines partial and complete success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Time-based Efficiency\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the average time that participants take to successfully complete each task or the speed it takes to finish the task.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Time on task is good for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/measuringu.com\/formative-time\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">diagnosing usability problems<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014you can tell that a user is having difficulty in interacting with the interface by the amount of time they take on a task. To come up with time on a task, you can simply use this equation:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Time on task = End time \u2014 Start time<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now that you know how to calculate the time on task, the complicated part is coming up with the time-based efficiency. The formula for calculating time-based efficiency may look intimidating but it is understandable once you insert numbers.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12483\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"126\" data-wp-pid=\"12483\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source:<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/ui-designer.net\/usability\/efficiency.htm\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UI Designer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">N = Number of tasks\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">R = Number of users<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">N<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ij<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">= The result of task i by user j; if the user successfully completes the task, then Nij = 1, if not, then N<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ij<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">= 0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">T<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ij<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">= The time spent by user j to complete task i. If the task is not successfully completed, then time is measured until the moment the user quits the task. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overall relative efficiency\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the ratio of the time taken by users to successfully complete a task in relation to the total time taken by all other users. It can be calculated using this equation:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12484\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-7.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"162\" data-wp-pid=\"12484\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source: <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/ui-designer.net\/usability\/efficiency.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UI Designer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Error rate<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This metric involves counting the number of errors made by participants when they were attempting to complete a given task. For many researchers, counting the number of errors that users make may be daunting, but this metric provides excellent information on how usable your system is.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But to help you measure this metric and obtain valuable insights from this metric, this is what <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/usability-metrics\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ayat recommends in her article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set a short description where you give details about how to score those errors and the severity of certain of an error to show you how simple and intuitive your system is<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Post Task Satisfaction<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As soon as your participants finish performing a task (whether they complete them or not), they should be handed a questionnaire so as to measure how difficult the task was. This post-task questionnaire should have about 5 questions, and it should be given at the end of each task.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Task level satisfaction\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the end of the test session, you can hand a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/computer-science\/usability-questionnaire\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">questionnaire<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to every participant just to get an overall impression of the level of satisfaction they got from using the product you are testing.\u00a0 The type of questions you will ask participants hinges on the amount of data you want to collect, they can either be open, closed-ended questions or use both.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12485\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/2-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"397\" data-wp-pid=\"12485\" \/><\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Types of usability tasks<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Usability tasks are either <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/usabilla.com\/blog\/asking-the-right-questions\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">open-ended or closed-ended<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in nature. The decision on which type of task to use usually depends on the objectives of your test \u2014once you have defined your test goals, then you can decide on the type of task to use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/usability-testing\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Khalid Saleh<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the CEO of Invesp, suggests that for a usability test to be effective, there is a great need to find \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">middle ground<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d and make use of these two types of tasks in a single usability test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether its customer interviews, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/polls-101-a-kickstart-guide-to-knowing-you-customers-and-increasing-conversions-on-your-website\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">polls<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, usability tests, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/polls-101-a-kickstart-guide-to-knowing-you-customers-and-increasing-conversions-on-your-website\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">surveys<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, focus groups or any other <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/9-tips-to-conducting-accurate-qualitative-research\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">qualitative research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> method we conduct, we often use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/writing-open-ended-and-closed-ended-questions-for-user-research\/\">open-ended<\/a> and closed-ended questions in unison at Invesp. This always gives the best value and a natural rhythm to the flow of our research.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Open-ended Tasks<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the name suggests, open-ended tasks are more flexible, designed with a minimal explanation on how to complete the task.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They encourage an infinite number of possible responses, and this means that your participants can give you answers they think are relevant. According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/open-ended-questions\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Susan Farell<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from Nielsen Norman Group<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, open-ended tasks invite participants to answer \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with sentences, lists, and stories, giving deeper and new insights<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12486\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"677\" height=\"416\" data-wp-pid=\"12486\" \/><\/div>\n<p><b>Examples<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Scenario<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: You are a frequent moviegoer who wants to have text message updates about movie premieres so that you won\u2019t have to search for them on a daily basis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Goal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: the researcher may intend to see how satisfied are the users when they are using the product on the test. In this context, here are some of the open-ended tasks that researchers may ask users to perform:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Please spend 6 minutes interacting with the website as you\u2019d normally do.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use this mobile application for six minutes, and make sure you get notifications movie premier notifications sent to your phone inbox.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or let\u2019s say you have just designed an e-commerce website and your goal is to find out if users can navigate through the site\u2019s checkout flow without getting distracted by certain elements. As an open-ended task, you can have this:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have been awarded a $90 gift card that can lapse in the next 10 minutes, use it before it expires.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the above examples, you can notice that the tasks are ongoing, they do not have a clear end-point. Individual participants will approach and complete them differently. Basically, one of the things that makes a task open-ended is its ability to achieve the same thing using various methods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12487\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/2-1-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"679\" height=\"357\" data-wp-pid=\"12487\" \/><\/div>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When to use open-ended tasks\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><b><i>Identifying Usability Bottlenecks<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: If you intend to find any elements that confuse your users as they interact with your site, giving them a license to roam around freely on your site will help you uncover some deflecting issues that you were oblivious to.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Discovering New Areas of Interest<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Encouraging unanticipated answers, through the use of open-ended tasks, can be valuable at times \u2014 users can give creative answers and in the process, you can discover something completely unique and unexpected.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Deciding on products to prioritize<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Sometimes usability tests can do more than fishing out a website\/app\u2019s usability issues. With the use of usability tasks, you can strategically use a usability test to figure out your users\u2019 areas of value.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Closed-ended tasks<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also referred to as a specific task, this kind of task is goal-oriented and based on the idea that there is one correct answer. Participants are guided with precise details, exact features to focus on and how they are supposed to interact with the interface.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With specific tasks, your test focuses on the exact features you want to research on. They are wonderfully effective at making the whole session easy for participants even though they bias users into giving preconceived answers, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/open-ended-questions\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Susan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12488\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-1-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"460\" data-wp-pid=\"12488\" \/><\/div>\n<p><b>Examples\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Scenario 1<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: You have to transfer $2,000 from the bank to your friend\u2019s account but your schedule for the day is tight. So instead of going to the bank, you have opted to make the transfer using your smartphone. Use <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">XYZ<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as your account number and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ABC <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as your credit card details.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Goal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: in this case, the researcher may seek to find out how efficient is it for users to make any bank transfers using their mobiles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Tasks\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click here to open the website.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enter your name and use your account number as your password.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click on the \u2018<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">make a transfer<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019 section.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enter the amount of money you intend to send.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enter the details of the person you intend to send to.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Press the preview button then confirm.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">imagine you have just finished working on a new website and you\u2019d want to validate the first impression that your website gives, and so you conduct a usability test to see what participants think about your web pages. Here\u2019s a closed-ended task you might use:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Task<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Use this link to visit the website, view each and every web page and click on the CTA button on the Home Page.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the second example, the researcher specifically wants to observe what kind of experience do the users after using the site. Notice how the task instructs the participants on how to interact with the site.\u00a0 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When to use closed-ended tasks?\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12489\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-1-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"679\" height=\"393\" data-wp-pid=\"12489\" \/><\/div>\n<p><b><i>Testing Specific Elements<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Suppose you just added a live chat feature on your website and you\u2019d want to test for its usability. In this case, you can give your participants specific instructions on how to use the live chat feature and ask them for their experience after the test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Complicated Products<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Not all web-products are easy to use at first glance. Some <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/gulfnews.com\/technology\/10-of-the-internets-weirdest-websites-ever-1.1884411\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">websites are weird<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and some are just non-traditional. Using closed-ended tasks in such instances will help advise your users on how to navigate through it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Optimizing Pages<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: If you know that, through <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/analytics.google.com\/analytics\/web\/#\/report-home\/a54516992w87479473p92320289\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Analytics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, your website has a high bounce rate, you can use closed-ended tasks to watch them go through the site and afterward, you can ask them about the challenges they may have faced. This will help you fish out the conversion problems and help you understand why they are bouncing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What makes a good usability task?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Defining the goals of the test and moderating the test is the easy part of a usability test. The challenging part is to recruit participants and to come up with effective tasks that mimic a real customer journey as much as possible. This is how\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.maze.design\/write-great-usability-tasks\/\">Elena Luchita<\/a>\u00a0says about usability tasks:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You need to make sure your test is well-structured, and the tasks you write are readable and easy to understand.\u00a0It&#8217;s simple to collect skewed data that validates your hypotheses yet isn&#8217;t representative of your users.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s much easier to recruit wrong participants and to make <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/userbrain.net\/blog\/5-mistakes-people-make-when-writing-usability-tasks\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mistakes when writing usability tasks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, most researchers can testify to this. There is a lot of consideration to be done. The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/better-usability-tasks\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nielsen Norman Group<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> considers writing good tasks for a usability test as much of an art than it is science.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12490\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"671\" height=\"447\" data-wp-pid=\"12490\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, regardless of the type of usability test, here are some of the universal characteristics that make a good usability task:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use Actionable Verbs\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use the user\u2019s language, not the product\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simple and clear\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The task has to be realistic<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Short and precise<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoid giving clues\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use Actionable Verbs\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether the task is open-ended or specific, it\u2019s best to persuade your users to <\/span><b>take action to perform it<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, rather than asking how they would do it. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One way of doing this is by including action verbs in your tasks.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here is a list of action verbs that can be used in a usability test:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Download<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Buy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Subscribe<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Find<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Click\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Complete\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sign-up<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Register<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Log-in<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Invite<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If they can be actionable tasks in user testing, then there can also be non-actionable tasks. The difference between the two is that actionable tasks prompt readers <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to do <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">while non-actionable tasks encourage users to answer <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in words<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To show you what I mean, let&#8217;s say you are conducting a usability test to see if users can find a verification code in a link that is in your email marketing message.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An actionable task will look like this, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">open this email and find the verification code<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, whereas a non-actionable task can be crafted as:\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how would you find the verification code in this email<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12491\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-3-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"510\" data-wp-pid=\"12491\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seeing participants figure out how to complete a task through their actions will allow you to observe their reactions, and it will give accurate insights on how users operate your product.\u00a0 Besides, you are likely to get inaccurate data if you depend on your users\u2019 self-reported data it\u2019s better to watch them express their words in actions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember that usability testing is premised on the idea of observing <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/first-rule-of-usability-dont-listen-to-users\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what participants do, not what they say<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014so whenever you find your users answering your tasks in words, just know that your tasks are not actionable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use the user\u2019s language, not the product\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I was in my final year at college, I remember attempting to read a friend\u2019s medical textbook, I couldn\u2019t go beyond one page. I was frustrated by too much jargon clustering the book. The diction used in the book was meant for students studying medicine \u2014for a journalism student, it wasn\u2019t easy to perceive the intended meaning of some paragraphs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here is what\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.trymyui.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/03\/writing-usability-testing-tasks\/\">Tim Rotolo,<\/a>\u00a0a UX Architect at TryMyUI, says about language when writing a usability task:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The main thing to remember is that writing good\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/trymyui.com\/usability-testing-benefits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">usability testing<\/a>\u00a0tasks comes down to communication. Your tasks have to make sense to the average user. Common language that is accessible and easy to digest is superior to very technical, stiff writing. Don\u2019t talk like a researcher; be clear and straightforward.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, when it comes to writing usability tests, you don\u2019t want your participants to ever wonder \u201cwhat does this mean?\u201d It is a fatal mistake to assume that participants will understand your industry terms. It\u2019s best to make tasks that speak to your users and not at them. Any misunderstanding could lead to fabricated feedback.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12492\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-1-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"446\" data-wp-pid=\"12492\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To show you what I mean, let\u2019s say you intend to design a new interface for sharing articles and you conduct a usability test to find out which icon will be the easiest for your users to understand. A task with a user-centric language will look like this:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have a look at the options below. The icons allow you to share the entire article with people. Choose the options that seem like the most intuitive icon for that action?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Needless to say, the wording of your task will impact the test outcome. Either negatively or positively. When writing tasks, make use of words that resonates with your participants \u2014as the saying goes, \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@danielbentes\/what-does-it-mean-to-be-user-centric-1abe11ac2566\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">focus on the end user, and everything else will follow\u2026<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simple and clear\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forget valuable feedback if your tasks are not simple and clear to the participants. If your tasks are not clear to your participants, the outcome of your test may carry no weight. As you design your usability tasks, consider clarity as an important element.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In every detail of your task, you should be precise. As much as you may want to observe how the participant uses your product, your tasks should be detailed in a way that your users may understand.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12493\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-1-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"419\" data-wp-pid=\"12493\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A good usability task has to be simple to understand but not too simplistic. Researchers have to strike a balance between the two. Participants have to understand what they are supposed to do, but the task shouldn\u2019t lead them to the answer straight away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make no mistake of leaving your participants wondering what the assignment is about. If possible, make sure that they understand the tasks at hand before they do anything.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The task has to be realistic<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Making tasks realistic is one of the things that is often overlooked when writing tasks for a usability test, and to be honest, this is pretty ridiculous. For insights to be accurate, the environment has to be as natural as possible and this also implies that the tasks have to mimic a real-life scenario.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, if you coordinate a test with the goal of finding out how long will it take for your users to find a product on your e-commerce site, it\u2019s important to make sure that the participants you recruit use online stores to purchase products.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asking participants to do something they don\u2019t usually do will cause them to fabricate the feedback. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your best bet in soliciting reliable feedback is to give your participants <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that sense of being in charge and owning the task.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Give no hints<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12494\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-1-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"679\" height=\"343\" data-wp-pid=\"12494\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why conduct a usability test when you give clues on how to use the product on a test? Isn\u2019t it best to watch them use a product in a way they deem fit? Giving clues or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/marketing\/usability-testing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">asking leading questions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ruins the prime idea of the study and it prompts users into doing things the presumed way.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Example,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imagine you conduct a test with the intention of finding out if users can notice important elements on your website.<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In such a scenario, if your task tells your participants which elements to focus on, then it&#8217;s as good as controlling them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Poor task:<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Go to the website, log in and subscribe for the weekly newsletter.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b>Good task:<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify information that you consider to be useful on the site<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although giving clues may rob us of the opportunity of understanding our users\u2019 thought process, at times it&#8217;s not easy trying to replace the standard words which are used in the interface. So, to avoid confusing participants, at times it&#8217;s acceptable to bend the rules and use words on the interface.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be short and precise\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jakob Nielsen\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nngroup.com\/articles\/applying-writing-guidelines-web-pages\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">seminal web usability study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of 1997 concluded that 79% of test users always scan the pages and only 16% read word-by-word. This is a reality you should work with, instead of fighting it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How then do you work with it?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12495\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-4-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"453\" data-wp-pid=\"12495\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make your tasks brief and precise. Minimize the time that your participants need to read and understand them. Lengthy tasks don\u2019t just take undue time to read and understand them, but they may influence the overall time that users take to complete a task.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s best to provide participants <\/span><b>with necessary details ONLY<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, anything outside the context of what you want to test is unnecessary and irrelevant. Strike a balance between keeping the task short and detailed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Okay, here is what I mean \u2014The year is 2019, and Samsung has just released the Samsung Galaxy S10 and you are interested in it. Log in the website, select the phone and add it to the cart.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5 Steps involved in designing usability tasks\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By now you probably know the relevance of tasks in a usability test. So to ensure that you know how to write effective tasks, let\u2019s take a closer look at the steps involved in designing them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 1: Align your tasks to your goals\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By the time you decide to design usability tasks, we assume that you already know which area of your system you want to test, and what goals are you trying to accomplish. The essence of any usability test (whether qualitative or quantitative) is to turn your goals into usability tasks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12496\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-1-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"399\" data-wp-pid=\"12496\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, if 60% of your users are exiting on the checkout page of your e-commerce website. Your goal for a usability test may be to find out why they are leaving on that page, right? So, your tasks should urge your participants to go through the checkout page.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your tasks are off-track, everything about your usability test can go wrong without you even realizing it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 2: The scenario has to be relatable\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the reasons why researchers make use of scenarios in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/user-testing\/\">user testing<\/a> is so that the participants are in the right state of mind before they perform any given task.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Presenting a scenario that participants do not relate to can confuse them and lead to misleading results. For your users to genuinely engage and interact with your interface, your scenario has to be something practical in their own world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can tell the task scenario is unrealistic if users seem confused or ask for any kind of assistance on how to handle the task required of them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make sure that your task scenarios are relatable, the participants you recruit should be knowledgeable about the elements you intend to test. For instance, if you are testing an e-commerce website you make your task scenario relatable by recruiting participants that are well-versed with online shopping.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"blog_img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12497\" src=\"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/images\/blog-images\/1-4-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"451\" data-wp-pid=\"12497\" \/><\/div>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 3: Decide on the format of your tasks\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aligning your tasks to your goals is vital, but selecting the right type of task is as crucial. Each usability test has its own subject matter, and as such, the approach in terms of the format of the task can never be one-size-fits-all.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As mentioned earlier, the two formats of usability tasks are open-ended or specific. You need to decide on the type to use between the two.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 4: Organize the tasks in order<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the things you want to avoid during a usability test is to confuse your participants. Just like in any other field, a change in a sequence has an effect on the outcome. In usability testing, there is a high chance of acquiring distorted results if your tasks are not presented in a logical order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tasks are usually presented in order if the format used to design them is a specific one. In such scenarios, participants are required to go from one step to the other. However, in open-ended tasks, it may not be necessary to articulate the tasks in order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Step 5: Evaluate the tasks<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the reasons why expert researchers notice mistakes when they are midway through the test is because they are too reluctant to verify the tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evaluating your tasks is the final step that must be taken before the process of designing usability tasks is complete. Evaluating your tasks will help you determine whether or not your tasks adhere to your goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be open-minded during this stage, as there may be changes you could make on the tasks to improve the effectiveness of your usability test.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s a wrap\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your tasks can either make or break your task. It takes one wrong task to poison a well-strategized usability test. There is a great need to be prudent when designing effective task so as to avoid any bias creeping in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every human is prone to mistakes, this is why it is highly recommended to evaluate your tasks before the actual user testing session.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your task scenarios resonate with your participants, then you have higher chances of obtaining valuable insights.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 17<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>When it comes to qualitative research techniques used in Conversion Rate Optimization, there are quite a few that give a good amount of insights on user reactions and feedback. One such method is usability testing. However, as Ayat stated in her article titled 9 Tips to Conducting Accurate Qualitative Research, \u201cqualitative research is only as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":12478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ux"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.invespcro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}