Path

The different types of paths

With UserTesting's platform, you can identify your users' sentiment and intent paths.

Sentiment path

A sentiment path is an interactive visualization that automatically evaluates and summarizes sentiment feedback from web-based experiences. You're able to view the positive and negative reactions that individuals have when interacting with web-based experiences.

To get the most out of the sentiment path, remember:

• Test large sample sizes to see additional unique paths or to reinforce the current patterns you're viewing.
• Compare different web properties for the same task for more nuanced feedback on the web experience you're testing.
• Add instruction to your test setup to encourage individuals to talk through their thoughts and feelings as they navigate the test.

Intent path

The intent path is an interactive visualization that groups specific customer behaviors based on their intent. This path helps to better understand customers’ decisions by digging deeper into the customer journey. 

To get the most out of the intent path, remember:

• Create clear objectives for individuals when writing tasks. For example, tell users to find sunglasses that cost less than $20 on a shopping page.
• Include multiple steps in your tasks that touch on common behaviors in the customer journey to analyze all of the actions individuals took side by side on the interactive path flow. 
• Intent path can be helpful for competitive analysis when trying to understand how users complete similar tasks on competing websites.
• Testing prototypes work well if you use a web-based prototyping solution with unique URLs for each experience.
• Consider your sample size and what you want to learn. More unique paths can reinforce the patterns you're seeing or provide more behaviors to analyze. 

What is the purpose of an interactive path flow?

Interactive path flows are useful when testing website navigation, onboarding flows, content findability, account creation, or multistep experiences. If users' path flows show difficulties when completing these tasks, it represents a cause for concern. Users should face little inconveniences navigating your interface. With interactive path flows, you'll identify your users' steps and take action to optimize and improve your software. Creating an intuitive design will satisfy users' needs and ensure returning customers.