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To set up a task based test, find 1 user (or more) who is new to your site and assign them a task. Observe how they complete that task.

Let the chosen task be related to your most popular product/service. After your introduction and test outline, leave the talking to the candidate. Encourage them to think out loud. If you think of any questions during the test, it is better just to write them down and ask them after the test is completed.

Pay attention to what they do as they move around your site. Write down any learning no matter how small; positive or negative. 

After the candidate has completed their task ask them about what they liked and didn’t like. Don’t ask ‘binary questions’ - the ones giving ‘yes/no’ or ‘true/false’ answers, rather encourage longer answers with questions like ‘Is there anything you like about this product?’, ‘How would you use this feature?’ or ‘Rate how important the various features are to you on a scale from 1-3’.

After your findings, look at how resource intensive the possible changes are and put them in a list of priorities. We find, more often than not, that the changes are text-related (headlines, fields, action buttons etc.).

People are scared of failure, so make your ‘candidate’ feel at ease and let them know it is your product being tested - not them.