Top Task Management for UX – Cisco
Methods & Outcomes
- Top Task Analysis
- Task Performance Index (TPI)
- Usability testing
- Strategic UX consulting
- Organizational alignment workshops
Team
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How do you prioritize UX when every department owns a piece of it?
Highlights
Cisco, a global leader in networking technology, needed to improve its digital support experience after years of rapid growth and siloed development. Despite a robust technical support site, many users, primarily IT professionals working under pressure, struggled to complete essential support tasks.
DFFRNT, via Neo Insight, introduced top task management and task performance indexing to identify and prioritize users' most critical goals. Over several quarters, they measured performance, aligned design with user priorities, and helped break down organizational silos. The result: fewer support tickets, faster task completion, and improved satisfaction.
The Client
Cisco provides the infrastructure behind much of the internet. Their clients include IT professionals responsible for mission-critical systems. Cisco engaged DFFRNT to clarify user priorities and improve site usability across its sprawling digital ecosystem.
The Challenge
Cisco’s massive product suite and internal complexity made it hard to maintain a user-centered approach. A bloated mega-menu and inconsistent content left users struggling to complete basic support tasks, especially under time pressure.
Departments operated in silos, and no single group owned the full user journey. Cisco needed to refocus its digital support strategy around actual user behavior, not internal structure.
"At Cisco, design decisions needed to better support users’ top tasks. DFFRNT’s data-driven approach helped us prioritize what really matters."
The Solution
DFFRNT conducted a top task study to identify the 10 most critical support goals for users. These tasks were measured over time using a Task Performance Indicator (TPI), a quantitative UX metric that tracked task success and informed iterative design.
By collecting hard data and surfacing user pain points, DFFRNT helped Cisco prioritize design improvements and make user needs a shared goal across departments. Their work also included usability testing and continuous monitoring to sustain performance gains.
The Outcome
The impact was clear. Task performance scores climbed steadily, jumping from 23 to 70 over three years. For new account registration alone:
- Completion rates doubled
- Support tickets dropped by more than 50%
- Time-on-task decreased by one-third
Top task management not only improved UX, it drove down support costs and helped re-align Cisco’s internal teams around user success.
Key Takeaways
- Prioritizing top tasks aligns teams and resources around real user needs
- Quantitative UX metrics help track progress and drive decision-making
- Task-focused design reduces support load and increases efficiency
- Breaking down organizational silos is key to UX transformation
- Usability testing should be routine, not one-off
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