Task flow: Designing systems with users' mental models
When the task flow reflects the Users Mental Model, the design is likely to be successful
We all have heard a lot about task flows, user flows, task analysis, etc. What really is it? Why is it so important in the UX process? How is it impacting the overall user experience? Well, as the name suggests, task flows are the steps taken by the users in order to achieve a goal. Moreover, tasks should fit the user's mental model. Now let's find out what a mental model is.
Unlocking users mental models
Uncovering the user’s mental model is an important step of the user-centered Analysis approach. A mental model is the user's representation in their mind of how something should work. A mental model is influenced by so many factors, like geography, age, climate, etc.
For example: In India, an Air Conditioner is called an ‘AC’, but in the US, it's called an ‘Air Con’. Similarly, a ‘traffic signal’ in India is called the same, but in South Africa, they are called ‘Robots’.
Our design systems should be reflecting the user's mental models. So here lies our important stuff! We have to uncover the user’s mental model and then design a task flow based on that mental model. Since it is guided by the user's behaviors, it is nearly impossible for them to describe their own mental models. Then how do we uncover it? Who does it?
When you ignore users’ mental model
They will feel abonded and frustrated while using the product and even stop using the product.
Mental models to scenarios
Knowing and guessing how the users might work is truly a challenging task. Usability Engineers aka User Experience Designers conduct one-on-one interviews, usability testings, etc to understand users' mental models. All we have to do is to talk to the users and see what's in their minds.
Now that we got their mental models, what to do next? We’ll have to create a design strategy, user profiles, task profiles, (list of all the tasks the users are going to do on our product/ service) environment profiles, user personae, conducting fields studies like interviews, surveys, etc, collect the data, and create a scenario out of that. I’m not getting into the details of each for now.
Let's talk about scenarios. They are short stories made from the user persona, who are trying to achieve a goal using our product/service in their context. The scenarios are based on the stories we got through data gathering. Scenarios help us to visualize how the various tasks are linked together in the real world. However, this will help us to think about the different functionalities that can be incorporated into the project.
Scenarios to task flows
Tasks cover the whole picture of the functionality, while scenarios can be only a part of it.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, tasks are the steps taken by the user to accomplish a goal. Now that we have got the user's mental model, the scenarios, and the task profiles. It's time to wire out the task flows.
We have to create a task flow based on what the users expect it to be. This expectation is got during the data-gathering phase.
The task flows can be iterated in 3 levels
- High-level tasks(From users mental model)
- Steps involved in each task
- Screen level task flows (single or multiple steps can be a screen)
Using this level of granularity in the task flows, we can create an Information architecture(IA). They are logical information placed meaningfully within reach in the product so that the users can never be lost. Having got the IA right, testing with users, we can now finally start with our screen flow or navigation flow.
You have to ensure that during each of these phases, you have to conduct usability tests to see if the users really understand the solution that we are trying to solve. Therefore, by the end, we can make a product that is truly usable!
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