How to Paint a Room: A Lesson in Task Analysis Mapping

Your apartment’s living room is painted in Pepto Bismal Pink. You can’t stand looking at it any longer. You decide to take action.

What do you do first? How many steps does it take before you actually begin painting the room? And, is your plan the same as your roommate’s?

As an exercise, I sketched out my own plan using Task Analysis Mapping. Task Analysis Mapping is done by UX researchers to determine how a customer decides to perform a task. Researchers then analyze the pain points to get ideas on products or services that would help make the customer’s plan easier.

My mapping was done on eight Post-It notes. The first note starts with the initial idea to paint the room.

Since I have a roommate, the next note was asking to see if they would be interested in changing the color of the room.

Then, I’d have to ask the landlord if I’m allowed to do change the walls.

Next, I’d ask my roommate if he had the funds to split it with me and talk about how to pay for it.

I’d ask which color the roommate would like.

And we’d decide on a color and I’d get the supplies.

Then we’d move things…

And begin painting.

Final step: enjoy your work.

After doing this exercise, it’s become clearer to me how researchers can begin to brainstorm on product ideas. For example, an app that takes a photo of the room and changes the color of the paint would be a great tool to use for the initial idea stage, landlord convincing stage, and brainstorming with roommate stage. Or a company that delivers a “paint care package” to you so you can get everything you need to begin your painting project.

It’s clear to me know how helpful it is to have prospective customers go through a Task Analysis Map to help spark the birth of a new product.