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✦ Task type · App testing

iOS onboarding tests that find the real drop-off

Your analytics tell you which screen people leave on. They cannot tell you why, because the reason left with the person. This buys the reason.

Post this taskThinking of taking one instead?

Onboarding tests answer a question analytics structurally cannot. A funnel tells you that forty per cent leave on the permissions screen. It cannot tell you that the copy asked for location access before saying why, because the person who found that unreasonable left without filing a report.

What to put in the public brief

Keep the app name, the build link and the test credentials private. A public brief naming an unreleased app is a launch leak with a reward attached.

What to put in the private instructions

  1. Give the build link and any test account

    Say plainly whether they may use their own Apple ID, because the answer changes who can take the task.

  2. State the task as an outcome, not a route

    "Get to the point where you have saved your first item", not "tap through the five onboarding screens". A named route tests whether they can follow instructions; an outcome tests whether your app can.

  3. Ask them to talk aloud, or note every hesitation

    Hesitation is the signal. You are buying the moments they paused, not the moments they succeeded.

  4. Ask one recall question about a screen partway through

    It is the cheapest authenticity check there is, and a worker who did not run the app cannot answer it.

Proof worth requiring

Ask for

The full screen recording, their written answers, and the device and iOS version. The recording is the artefact; everything else is index to it.

Do not ask for

A rating out of ten. It compresses the only useful thing — where they stalled and what they thought was happening — into a number you cannot act on.

When this task type is the wrong tool

If you already know where people drop and want to compare two fixes, this is heavier than you need — usability testing answers a comparison faster. If the app is not installable outside TestFlight and you cannot add external testers, nothing here works until that is solved.

For Android, the same brief works with one change: fragmentation is real, so name the device tier you care about rather than accepting whatever arrives.

Common questions

How many testers do I need?

Five to eight for a first pass. The classic usability finding is that the first five surface most of the problems that block a first-run, and the curve flattens hard after that. Run five, fix what they hit, then run five more against the fix rather than buying twenty at once.

What reward is fair?

Ten to twenty dollars for a ten-minute run with a screen recording and written answers. Push higher when you need a specific iOS version, a device older than three years, or a first-time user of the category rather than someone who has seen forty apps this month.

Should testers know what the app does?

No, and this is the most common brief mistake. If you explain the value proposition in the brief, you have removed the thing you are testing. Say what category it is and nothing else; the point is to find out whether your own onboarding can do the explaining.

How do I stop people faking it?

Require the screen recording rather than a summary, and ask one question that can only be answered by someone who reached a specific screen. A worker who did not run the app cannot describe the third step, and the recording makes the claim checkable rather than a matter of trust.

Thinking of taking this task?

The same job, from the other side. Rewards are set by the poster, so treat these as the range this task type usually sits in rather than a promise.

Usually pays
$10 to $20 for about ten minutes
You need
An iPhone and the ability to install a test build
Proof expected
A screen recording plus written answers

Where you get stuck is the point, so do not prepare and do not read ahead. A confused run is the useful one and is paid the same as a smooth one.

Create a worker account

Test your onboarding

Set the reward and the number of testers. Workers with an iPhone reserve a spot; your build link and test account stay private until they do.

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