Tree Testing
Testing whether people can find things in a structure, with no visual design to confound the result.
Definition
Tree testing presents the navigation hierarchy as plain text and asks participants to find where they would look for something. It isolates structure and labelling from layout and visual design.
Established research. Originates in published research and has been replicated. The effect is real. Its size in your product still needs measuring.
What you get out
- Success rate: did they end at the right place?
- Directness: did they go straight there, or backtrack?
- First click: where did they go first, which predicts success strongly.
- Time to answer, as a secondary signal.
In practice
Testing before designing
Redesign projectsRunning a tree test on the proposed structure before any visual design means structural problems are fixed while they are still text, which is the cheapest point to fix them.
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
Often used with
These usually appear in the same screen or the same decision.
- Card SortingResearch method
Sorting proposes a structure, tree testing checks whether people can navigate it.
- Optimal WorkshopTool
Related concept
Connected closely enough to change how you apply this.
- NavigationPattern
- SearchPattern
- First-Click TestingResearch method
- Information ArchitectureResearch method