Overview

What is a task flow analysis?

A step-by-step analysis of how one or many users will interact with a system in order to reach a goal.

Outcomes

• Identify key steps a user will take to move through a task
• Insights into who will be part of the flow, and where handoffs happen
• Important information at each step and what user actions are needed
• Opportunities to improve the flow
• Aligning your stakeholders, PM, design and engineering teams on the experience and challenges users experience completing a task

Participants

• 6-12 stakeholders that have deep understanding of users and the business process.Ideally you would also have It is ideal to include customers actual users in this stage.

Materials & environment

In Person Session

• Sticky notes, Permanent markers
• Dry erase markers
• Butcher wall paper or white board
• Large conference room – so participants can walk around and interact with materials

Virtual Session

• Online white board collaboration tool (Miro, Mural, Figjam, etc)

Before you start

1. Set up your online collaboration space, or in person conference room. If you are doing this in person use different color sticky notes for the symbol types
2. Defined the goals for each person involved in the task, persons themselves, and the specific task you will be focusing on

Directions

1. List the task name, and all the people that will be involved in this task.
2. Create a symbol library with different shapes to show start/goal, end/outcome, user action, decision condition, and system action. In person use colors to show the different states
3. Next, designate a swim lane for each person. By doing this you will see where each person interacts with the task flow.
4. Write out the goals for each person in their swim lane. Throughout the flow you want to see if they were able to achieve these goals.
5. Next use the start symbol and put it in the swim lane of the person who initiates the task. Next add the appropriate symbol to the person it goes to next, in the appropriate swim lane, connecting with arrows. Remember to use the proper symbols. You want to see if it is a user action, system action or if there is a decision to be made. Continue to do this until you have completed the task.
6. Use the end/outcome symbol in the appropriate lane to show this.
7. Review the task flow and see if each person was able to fulfill their goal through this task flow. Dig into the decision conditions and elaborate on what those decisions are.
8. Once this is complete you should have a good depiction of what needs to happen in order to fulfill this task. You can use this to test in the experience whether or not this task flow is achievable and easy to navigate, and also use this as a test case for walking through and checking for usability issues with your customers.

Example

Labels: