How to use Task Questions in an Express Usability Test

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express usability

Task Overview

Task questions are a question type in an Express usability test. Use a task question when you want the participant to complete a specific task on a live website, prototype, or app. 

Desktop usability task question

  • Up to 15 task questions with continuous recording
  • No duration limit
  • Captures face, screen, and audio

Mobile usability task question

  • Up to 15 task questions with a total recording time of up to 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, the participant will no longer be recorded even if they continue to go through and answer questions in your mission. 
  • Captures screen and audio

An important note on participant fatigue: Participants can experience test fatigue in as little as 15 to 25 minutes, especially during unmoderated testing. Time limits are important to respecting participants' time and getting the best data. To prevent test fatigue, you should consider limiting the duration of your test. Stay focused on your goal and research hypothesis, and consider breaking a long test into shorter ones if needed. 

Each task question has power follow-ups that can be toggled on as well as the option to enable privacy blur to obfuscate participants’ personal information during their responses.

How to add a Task to your Usability Test

  1. Click Add and select Task from the question options. Note: task questions are only available in Usability tests. 

  1. Write your task question prompt. Learn more: Become a Task Writing Pro.
  2. Click Add in the Task URL container to include a URL or prototype link (optional). Learn more about including task URLs below.
  3. Optional: Turn on your desired power follow-ups on the right-hand menu. Power follow-ups include self-reported completion and Single Ease Question (SEQ). If enabled, power follow-up results will be included in your task analysis. Read more about the power follow-up questions below. 

  4. (Optional) Enable privacy blur to blur the participants' screen while they complete this task. For more information, see Privacy blur.

Task URLs

In a task question, you can include a website URL or Figma prototype link. If included, participants will be directed to this link when they begin the task. URLs can be added at the mission or task level. The prototype or website will not open for participants until it is introduced through a Task question.

A URL or prototype link is not required for a task question. You only need to include a URL or prototype link in a task question if you’d like to control the starting point of the task. 

The URL or prototype link should be included in the URL field, not in the question prompt or within checkpoints. Including the URL or prototype link in the URL field allows the mission to open the URL automatically when the task is started. 

Participants are automatically directed to the link. When including the URL or prototype link in the URL field, the URL will open automatically for participants when they start the task. 

The link will stay open for participants. It isn't necessary to re-include a task URL once it has been introduced. 

Manage Task URLs modal

Task URLs can be managed within your mission in one place: the Manage Task URL modal, which can be accessed by selecting the Task URLs button in the upper right-hand corner of the Create tab.  

In the Manage Task URL’s modal, you can view all prototypes or web URLs in your mission and which task questions they are added to. You can also add, refresh, and delete prototypes. URLs added to a mission through an individual task question will automatically show up here. 

  1. Click the Task URLs button in the upper right-hand corner of the Create tab.
  2. Click Add URL, select Website or Figma prototype, and include your link. If you are testing a Figma prototype, read more about using Figma prototypes and our Figma integration here: Figma Integration – Getting Started.

Add URLs through a task question

You can add URLs as you go by adding them directly to a task question.

  1. Add a task question to your Usability test. 
  2. Select Add in the Task URL container and select Website or Figma prototype, or choose from an already uploaded task URL. If you are testing a Figma prototype, read more about using Figma prototypes and our Figma integration here: Figma Integration – Getting Started.

Setting a success screen or URL

If including a task URL, you will have the option to include a success URL or success screen to automatically determine the successful completion of a task. Success is determined by whether or not the participant visits the URL while completing the task. This lets you capture your definition of success to complement the self-reported success power follow-up question.

  • Desktop usability missions can include a web URL or a Figma* screen to determine success. *Only available if you connect your Figma account with dscout. 
  • Mobile usability missions using in-app view can include a web URL or a Figma* screen to determine success. *Only available if you connect your Figma account with dscout. 
  • Mobile usability missions using external view can capture automatic success through a Figma screen using the Figma integration. External view mobile usability tests cannot determine success with a URL. Learn more about in-app and external views on mobile here. 
  1. After adding the starting URL for a task, select Add in the Set Success URL container. 
  2. Paste the URL on which you expect the scout to finish the task. You can also use wild-card URLs by using an asterik in place of a portion of the URL that will be ignored. Read more about setting a Figma screen for success here: Adding a Figma prototype to a Usability mission.

Power Follow-Ups

You have the option of including power follow-up questions for each task. These questions can not be edited and are tied to specific analysis metrics. They must be toggled on prior to launching your mission. You can toggle them on using the menu on the right-hand side of the screen. 

Self-reported completion: Task questions have an optional Success Follow-Up Question that will ask the participant if they have successfully completed a task. If enabled, the task will display the completion percentage for that task with each scout response listing (a) yes - successful or (b) no - (technical issues, confusing prompt, or too difficult). 

Single Ease Question (SEQ): Task questions have an optional SEQ that acts as a follow-up scale question measuring participant-reported success (1- very difficult, 7 - very easy). If enabled, the task will display an average effort rating and a rating distribution. It will also display the participant’s rating for each task. 

SEQ Difficulty Follow-Up: Task questions have an additional SEQ follow-up option to ask the participant to describe “why was the task difficult” if the participant reports a difficulty rating of 1-4. 


Privacy blur

Usability tests record a participant’s screen from start to finish. To protect participants’ PII (personally identifiable information), you can enable privacy blur on task questions. For more information, see Privacy blur.

Task Question Metrics

You can access specific task metrics in the Analyze tab for your Task question. For a full walkthrough of analyzing your usability test and task questions, check out: Analyzing a Usability Test

 

 

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