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Tree Testing/Evidence
Method evidence record

Tree Testing

Tree Testing is a quantitative, task-based validation method for evaluating information architecture and navigation structures. Users are presented with a text-only representation of a website or app hierarchy (a tree) and asked to locate specific items or complete tasks by clicking through the structure. Unlike card sorting, which reveals user mental models during design, tree testing validates whether a proposed structure allows users to find items efficiently. The method captures success rate, time-to-completion, and paths taken, providing metrics for comparing navigation designs.

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Source record

Citations copied verbatim from the method’s source record. No claim-level verification is inferred from them.

Tree Testing Method
Taxonomic method record · hypothesis-test / human-computer-interaction
  • Tullis, T., Fleischman, S., McNulty, M., Ciccone, C., & Bergel, M. (2002). An empirical comparison of lab and remote usability testing of web sites. In Proceedings of the Usability Professionals Association Annual Conference. · URL
  • Katz, S. J., & Macleod, M. C. (2014). Optimal usability testing using tree testing. Journal of Usability Studies, 9(2), 50–69. · URL
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Curated claims

Claims persisted in the evidence ledger, each with its own assessment.

No curated claims yet

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Related methods

Generated from the method graph and shown as machine-suggested relations — no evidence claim is inferred.

Same method familyCard Sortingmachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyContextual Inquirymachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyFirst-Click Testingmachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.Same method familyHeuristic Evaluationmachine-suggested · Relational suggestion, not evidence.

Evidence status

Sources recorded, not reviewed

Bibliographic sources are present. Claim-level evidence review has not been performed.

Sources

2 recorded citations, copied from the method source record.

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