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Tree testing
open-in-new
<h2 id="basic-method">Basic method</h2> <p>In a typical tree test:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <ol><li>The participant is given a "find it" task (e.g., "Look for men's belts under $25").<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></li> <li>They are shown a text list of the top-level topics of the website.</li> <li>They choose a heading, and are then shown a list of subtopics.</li> <li>They continue choosing (moving down through the tree, backtracking if necessary) until they find a topic that satisfies the task (or until they give up).</li> <li>They do several tasks in this manner, starting each task back at the top of the tree.</li> <li>Once several participants have completed the test, the results are analyzed.</li></ol> <h2 id="analyzing-the-results">Analyzing the results</h2> <p>The analysis typically tries to answer these questions: </p> <ul><li>Could users successfully find particular items in the tree?</li> <li>Could they find those items directly, without having to backtrack?</li> <li>If they couldn't find items, where did they go astray?</li> <li>Could they choose between topics quickly, without having to think too much?</li> <li>Overall, which parts of the tree worked well, and which fell down?</li></ul> <h2 id="tools">Tools</h2> <p>Tree testing was originally done on paper (typically using <a href="/facts/Index_cards/W5NWDM0E">index cards</a>), but can now also be conducted using specialized software.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Hanington, Bruce; Martin, Bella (2019). Universal Methods of Design, Expanded and Revised. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers. p. 232. ISBN 9781631597497. <a href="9781631597497" target="_blank">9781631597497</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Donna Spencer (April 2003). "Card-Based Classification Evaluation". <a href="http://boxesandarrows.com/card-based-classification-evaluation/" target="_blank">http://boxesandarrows.com/card-based-classification-evaluation/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Chesnut, Donald; Nichols, Kevin (2014). UX for dummies. West Sussex, England: Wiley. p. 141. ISBN 9781118852781. <a href="9781118852781" target="_blank">9781118852781</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Palade, Vasile (2003). Knowledge-based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems. Springer Nature. p. 250. ISBN 978-3-540-23318-3. <a href="978-3-540-23318-3" target="_blank">978-3-540-23318-3</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Elleithy, Khaled; Sobh, Tarek (2006). Advances in Systems, Computing Sciences and Software Engineering : Proceedings of SCSS 2005. Dordrecht: Springer. p. 232. ISBN 9781402052620. <a href="9781402052620" target="_blank">9781402052620</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Paraguacu, Fabio; Gouarderes, Guy; Cerri, Stefano A. (2002). Intelligent tutoring systems : 6th International Conference, ITS 2002, Biarritz, France and San Sebastián, Spain, June 2-7, 2002 : proceedings. Berlin; London: Springer. p. 743. ISBN 978-3-540-43750-5. <a href="978-3-540-43750-5" target="_blank">978-3-540-43750-5</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Hanington, Bruce; Martin, Bella (2019). Universal Methods of Design, Expanded and Revised. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers. p. 232. ISBN 9781631597497. <a href="9781631597497" target="_blank">9781631597497</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>DESAI, SANDEEP; SRIVASTAVA, ABHISHEK (2016). Software Testing. Phi Learning. p. 310. ISBN 9788120352261. <a href="9788120352261" target="_blank">9788120352261</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Frick, Tim; Eyler-Werve, Kate (2014). Return on Engagement : Content Strategy and Web Design Techniques for Digital Marketing. Oxford: CRC Press. pp. 78–87. ISBN 9781135012939. <a href="9781135012939" target="_blank">9781135012939</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Sharon, Tomer; Gadbaw, Benjamin (2016). Validating product ideas: through lean user research. Brooklyn, NY: Rosenfeld Media. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-4571-9077-3. <a href="978-1-4571-9077-3" target="_blank">978-1-4571-9077-3</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Soares, Marcelo M.; Rosenzweig, Elizabeth; Marcus, Aaron (2022). Design, User Experience, and Usability: UX Research, Design, and Assessment. Ch: Springer International Publishing AG. p. 84. ISBN 9783031058967. <a href="9783031058967" target="_blank">9783031058967</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>