First-Click Testing
Measuring where people click first, which predicts task success better than almost any other single measure.
Definition
Participants are shown an interface and asked where they would click to complete a task. Only the first click is recorded. Research by Bob Bailey and Cari Wolfson found that a correct first click strongly predicts eventual task success.
Established research. Originates in published research and has been replicated. The effect is real. Its size in your product still needs measuring.
Why it is useful
- It is fast: a test can be run on a static image with no prototype.
- It scales: hundreds of participants at low cost.
- It isolates the moment of decision, which is where most navigation failures happen.
- It produces a heat map that is easy to communicate to stakeholders.
Sources
Where a source establishes something narrower than the popular reading of it, the note says so.
First click usability testing
B. Bailey and C. Wolfson, Usability.gov research summaries
Reported a strong relationship between correct first clicks and task success.
Continue from here
Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.
Applies when you are designing
Short definition
The one-paragraph version, for when that is all you need.
Related concept
Connected closely enough to change how you apply this.
- NavigationPattern
- Eye TrackingResearch method
- Five-Second TestResearch method
- Tree TestingResearch method
- Usability TestingResearch method
- Visual HierarchyUI foundation