Methodology
Pre and post tasks
A pre or post task is the simplest form of an online community. It's a short-burst asynchronous environment that runs alongside a live research event.
(pre-tasks and follow-up around a live session)
About this methodology
Prime before, follow up after
After the session, the platform could remain open for follow-up tasks, concept ranking, or final reflection. The result is richer live sessions. Participants who have already thought about a topic produce more considered and less reactive responses in the room. And the structured follow-up means that the questions that always arise after a debrief can be answered without re-recruiting.
Because the community runs on the same platform as any other incling study, there are no additional tools to learn, no imports, and no file management. Participants join once and move between asynchronous and live tasks seamlessly.
At a glance
- Duration 1 to 3 days typical
- Runs alongside Focus groups, workshops, in-depth interviews
- Setup time Community live within 24 hours
- Languages 30+ with automatic translation
- Markets Single or multi-market in one study
Ideal use cases
Best for
Pre and post tasks fit whenever a live session would benefit from prepared participants, or when the questions raised in a debrief deserve a structured follow-up.
Priming before focus groups
Ask participants to review stimulus, document a routine, or form initial views on a topic before joining a group. Arrival conversations are richer, and moderators can probe what the community surfaced.
Post-group follow-up
Reopen the platform after live sessions to rank concepts, share final thoughts, or answer the questions that always emerge in the debrief.
Homework and in-home missions
Send participants on a task between sessions. This could be a shopping trip, a product trial, a competitive comparison and use their findings as the starting point for the next live discussion.
In-depth interview preparation
Brief individual participants with structured pre-tasks before one-to-one interviews to ensure the session can go deeper faster, rather than spending time on contextual background.
Ready to see incling in action?
Talk to the team about your live sessions and we will show you how pre and post tasks make them go deeper.