Research methods
Tree testing
Also calledReverse card sorting, Tree test
A method for testing navigation: participants see only a text version of your menu and click through it to find where they would complete a task.
Tree testing strips away visual design so you test the structure alone. Participants are given a task, such as finding out how to replace a lost card, and click through the menu hierarchy until they choose where they think the answer is.
It is usually run after card sorting: the card sort tells you how people would organise things, and the tree test checks whether the structure you built actually works. Fifteen to twenty people per set of tasks is usually enough to see which tasks fail.