In this guide
"Try the app and tell me what you think" gets vague answers. Five concrete tasks with an expected result get feedback you can act on: either the result matched, or the tester can tell you where it did not. Five tasks fit into 10 to 15 minutes, which is a fair ask.
Copy-paste template
TEST TASKS: [App name], build [n]
Time: about [10-15] minutes. Device: any [Android / iOS] phone running [version or newer].
For each task: do it, then tell me
(a) did the expected result happen? yes / partly / no
(b) if not: what happened instead, and what screen were you on?
(c) was anything unclear on the way?
Task 1 - First start
Do: Install and open the app. [Create an account / skip sign-in].
Expected: [You reach the main screen in under N steps; no error.]
Task 2 - Core action
Do: [The main thing the app is for, in one sentence].
Expected: [What you should see afterwards].
Task 3 - Change or undo
Do: [Edit or delete what you created in task 2].
Expected: [..]
Task 4 - Something that can go wrong
Do: [Turn on airplane mode / leave a field empty / deny a permission] and repeat task 2.
Expected: [A clear message, no crash, no lost data].
Task 5 - Come back
Do: Close the app fully, reopen it.
Expected: [Your data from task 2 is still there].
Finally: what was the one thing you'd fix first?
Example (invented)
Task 2 - Core action
Do: Add an expense of 3.50 in the category "Coffee".
Expected: It shows at the top of the list and the monthly total goes up by 3.50.
Task 4 - Something that can go wrong
Do: Turn on airplane mode and add another expense.
Expected: It saves; no error message.
How to adapt it
- One goal per task, one visible expected result. If you can't say what "right" looks like, rewrite the task.
- Cover five kinds of tasks: first start, main action, change/undo, a failure case, and returning. Swap in your own flows.
- Describe goals, not buttons. Testers who are told where to tap can't tell you whether they would have found it.
- Add steps your app's feedback form asks for, for example device and OS, so that reports arrive in one structure.
- Ask for the same thing every time: match / partly / no. It makes answers countable across testers.
Related: device matrix, risk-based testing, and the hub mobile app testing checklists.
On AppReviewX, feedback is private and structured, which pairs well with a task list like this. Get started on AppReviewX.