---
id: kb_task_completion_walkthrough
title: Task completion cognitive walkthrough
category: core-heuristics
appliesToAppTypes: [generic, e-commerce, saas-dashboard, marketing]
appliesToLenses: [task-completion]
steps: [evaluate]
tags: [task-completion, cognitive-walkthrough, first-time-user]
citation:
  source: "Cognitive Walkthrough Method"
  retrievedAt: "2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z"
freshness:
  volatility: stable
  lastReviewed: "2026-06-02T00:00:00.000Z"
---

## Summary

First-time users need each task step to expose the goal, available action, result, and recovery path.

## Deep Guidance

Walk the task as the stated persona with their prior knowledge. At each step, ask whether the user can identify the next action, predict its result, see feedback after acting, and recover if the path is wrong. Findings should cite the specific task step and a concrete selector or region where missing context, ambiguous labels, absent feedback, or blocked recovery creates friction.