"Plans are nothing; planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
If you we have a site structure to test and some tasks in mind, it’s tempting just to dive right in – set up the test, email a bunch of users, and watch the results come in. Easy, right?
However, you’ll we’ll get a lot more out of your our testing if you we take a step back and ask yourself ourselves some basic questions, such as:
- Why am I running this test? What am I specifically trying to find out?
- What am I testing – the whole tree, or just the top levels? Or two completely different trees?
- Who should I test – existing customers, or prospective ones too?
How you we answer these questions can radically change how you we run your our test and analyze your our results.
Why are
youwe running this test?
overview text hereBaselining, testing new/revised trees, comparing alternatives, etc.
How many rounds of testing?
- overview text here
2 rounds is standard, but even 1 round will improve our site.
Which trees will
youwe test?
- overview text here
Existing tree vs. new tree(s)? The whole tree or just part of it?
Who will
youwe test?
- overview text here
User groups, recruiting, and incentives
When will
you test?- overview text here
How/where will you test?
- overview text here
we test?
We can start as soon as we have a site tree roughed out
Which tool will we use?
Treejack, UserZoom, paper, and other tools
Where will we test?
Online using a browser vs. in person
Who will do what?
- overview text here
Working with a team vs. going solo
How will
youwe handle problems?
- overview text here
Documenting your plan
- overview text here
Most problems can be prevented, but a safety net is always wise
Documenting our plan
Some templates to keep us on track