Turn User Goals into Task Scenarios for Usability Testing
Turn User Goals into Task Scenarios for Usability Testing
What Users Need To Be Able To Do
In order to observe participants you need to give them something to do. These assignments are frequently referred to as tasks. Rather than simply ordering test users to “do X” with no explanation, it’s better to situate the request within a short scenario Ask yourself: What are the most important things that every user must be able to accomplish on the site?
Engage Users with Task Scenarios
For example, a task scenario could be:
You’re planning a vacation to New York City, March 3 − March 14. You need to buy both airfare and hotel. Go to the American Airlines site and jetBlue Airlines site and see who has the best deals.
1. Make the Task Realistic
- User goal: Browse product offerings and purchase an item.
- Poor task: Purchase a pair of orange Nike running shoes.
- Better task: Buy a pair of shoes for less than $40.
2. Make the Task Actionable
- User goal: Find movie and show times.
- Poor task: You want to see a movie Sunday afternoon. Go to www.fandango.com and tell me where you’d click next.
- Better task: Use www.fandago.com to find a movie you’d be interested in seeing on Sunday afternoon.
3. Avoid Giving Clues and Describing the Steps
- User goal: Look up grades.
- Poor task: You want to see the results of your midterm exams. Go to the website, sign in, and tell me where you would click to get your transcript.
- Better task: Look up the results of your midterm exams.