Up a tree: Using tree tests to evaluate your IA
So, you design websites. And you’re good – you use a range of design methods and you run usability tests to improve your work. All good.
But what about designing the structure of your site – the top-down navigation through your content? You design it, but how do you know it works? Have you tested it, like you test your page layouts and your visual design?
In this session, we discuss an information-architecture method – tree testing – that has been lurking for years in paper form, but is now getting more interest and attention as an online remote-testing technique. We start with tree-testing concepts and run a live tree test with members of the audience, then dive into the how-to’s of running a good study and the lessons we’ve learned from several high-profile IA projects.
We start with a brief summary of:
- The problem – how to test a site structure early in the design process
- Existing solutions (closed card sorting, prototyping, etc.)
- How tree testing works (using paper examples)
- Online testing, with tools from several different vendors
We then look at lessons learned from real IA projects, including:
- Positioning tree testing in the design lifecycle
- Testing alternative structures against each other, and against an existing structure (i.e. the new structures are different, but are they actually better?)
- Testing iteratively, in several rounds over a few weeks
- Spotting common problems such as “evil attractors”
- Current limitations of the method and possible future directions
Throughout, we’ll use examples from well-known business and government clients. By the end, you will understand the fundamentals of this IA method and have a good idea of how it might help you on your next project.