We already have card sorting, usability testing, and a variety of other UX methods. What does tree testing offer that these other methods don’t?
- It’s quick.
You can set up, run, and analyze a tree test in a week or less. - You can test before you have a site or even a prototype.
All you need is a tree of topics, some representative tasks, and some willing participants. - It focuses on site structures only.
By testing organization and labeling by themselves, tree testing provides a solid foundation that you can build on later, adding page design, visual design, and search. - It’s better at testing structures than closed card sorting.
Closed card sorting was the traditional way to test site categories, but tree testing is more realistic and deals with all levels of the tree. - You get an objective evaluation of your headings and terms.
Qualitative feedback from users and opinions from stakeholders are good, but checking that against quantitative results from your target audience is much, much better.
For more on how tree testing fits into UX design (and how it compares to other UX methods), see Chapter 3 - IA in the design process.
Next: When should we do a tree test?