Unlocking Insights Through Tree Testing

Insights Through Tree Testing

Unlocking Insights Through Tree Testing: A Practical Experience -Tree Testing-focuses on the structural aspect of a website without visual distractions, allowing us to pinpoint and address navigation issues effectively.

As a UX enthusiast, this was my first time learning about and conducting a tree testing exercise using the free online tool Usabilitree, and the results were both enlightening and informative. Tree testing is a powerful method to evaluate the usability of a website’s structure by analyzing how users navigate its content. Here’s a summary of my study and the key takeaways:

---Study Overview Our tree testing study aimed to assess the clarity and efficiency of our website’s information architecture.

Task Creation !!

I created two tasks, as shown in the image, to evaluate whether participants could successfully navigate the website's menu structure to locate specific sub menu:

1. 'Technical Mattress' under the Shop section.

2. 'Company Values' under the About section.

--- Key Findings

- Completion Rate : 75% Out of 4 participants, 3 successfully completed the tasks, while 1 abandoned the study. This indicates the structure is navigable but needs improvement to ensure a seamless experience for all users.

- Time Taken : Median of 51 seconds Participants took an average of 51 seconds to complete the tasks. The fastest time was 50 seconds, and the longest was 1 minute, 16 seconds.

- Success Rate : 67% Two-thirds of tasks ended with participants arriving at the correct destination, though some faced challenges.

- Directness Score: 17% Only 17% of participants reached their destinations without backtracking, suggesting confusion in the labeling or hierarchy.

--- Key Learnings and Next Steps

1. Refine Labels and Hierarchy The low directness score highlights the need to simplify and clarify labels and categories.

2. Expand Testing Audience A sample size of 4 provided initial insights, but a larger participant pool will offer more reliable and diverse perspectives.

3. Iterative Testing Based on these findings, I plan to adjust the structure and conduct follow-up tests to validate improvements.

Why Tree Testing Matters Tree testing

Tree testing is a simple yet powerful tool for UX practitioners. By focusing solely on navigation without visual distractions, it helps identify structural issues that impact user experience. As a first-time learner, this experience emphasized the importance of usability testing in creating user-centric designs. Tools like Usabilitree empower designers to make data-driven decisions for continuous improvement. Have you tried tree testing in your projects? I'd love to hear about your experiences and insights in the comments below!

Try Usabilitree -- https://lnkd.in/d7xFpdEG

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