Tree Testing:
User Testing of Information Hierarchies

Prof. Keith Andrews

ISDS, Graz University of Technology, Austria

Web site:
https://isds.tugraz.at/keith/

Slides:
https://keithandrews.com/talks/2019/uxdg-2019-11-14-tree-testing/

Thu 14 Nov 2019 18:25, UX Day Graz, FH Joanneum, Graz, Austria.

Information Architecture (IA)

Information architecture (IA) is the structural design of an information space to facilitate intuitive access to its contents.

IA comprises:

IA on a Typical Product Website

This is IA
Information architecture on a typical product website.

Building an IH with Card Sorting

Card Sorting
Building an information hierarchy with card sorting.

Capturing the IH of an Existing Website

tugraz.at navigation hierarchy
Modelling the main navigation hierarchy of tugraz.at.

Model the IH in a Spreadsheet (Say)

tugraz.at navigation hierarchy
The main navigation hierarchy of tugraz.at represented in a spreadsheet.

Tree Testing

Tree testing tests whether an information hierarchy (tree) is intuitive to end users:

  1. Take an existing or candidate information hierarchy.
  2. Present it in a plain, unadorned fashion.
  3. Test users are asked where they would expect to find certain items (while thinking out loud).
  4. Their progress is recorded and analysed.

Tree testing is sometimes also known as hierarchy validation or reverse card sorting.

Types of Tree Testing

Paper-Based Information Hierarchy

tugraz.at navigation hierarchy modelled on cards.
The main navigation hierarchy of tugraz.at modelled on paper cards.
Image from Borreguero Llorente et al., 2018, used under the terms of CC BY 4.0.

Paper-Based Tree Testing

Test user navigating online.tugraz.at hierarchy modelled as cards.
A test user navigating the main hierarchy of online.tugraz.at modelled as paper cards.
Image from Borreguero Llorente et al., 2017, used under the terms of CC BY 4.0.

Tree Testing with Folders in a File System

tugraz.at information hierarchy modelled as folders. tugraz.at information hierarchy presented one level at a time for testing
An information hierarchy modelled with folders and subfolders and presented to users for testing.

Online Tree Testing Tools

Typical Online Tree Testing Procedure

  1. Create a study (project).
  2. Upload/enter the information hierarchy.
  3. Create navigation tasks with correct solution.
  4. Invite participants.
  5. Analyse the results.

Treejack Demo

Treejack participant.
A participant using Treejack.

TreeTest Demo

TreeTest participant.
A participant using TreeTest.

Resources

Acknowlegdements

Thanks to my students present and past:

Thank You

My web site:
https://isds.tugraz.at/keith/

These slides:
https://keithandrews.com/talks/2019/uxdg-2019-11-14-tree-testing/