Preliminary Tests in Product Development
News Article: Early-Design Testing Methods: Tree Testing, First-Click Testing, and Card Sorting
In a recent video, William Hudson introduced the concept of early-design testing, a crucial step in the design process that aims to validate usability and information architecture before full development. Three key methods discussed in the video are tree testing, first-click testing, and a new addition, card sorting.
Tree Testing
Tree testing, also known as reverse card sorting, is a method that assesses the findability and organization of a website or app’s hierarchical structure. It helps designers verify if users can locate content within the proposed navigation structure, without distraction from visual design.
The detailed process of tree testing involves preparing a tree structure, defining tasks, conducting testing, analyzing results, and iterating to optimize usability. Participants are asked to navigate through the tree by clicking on category names to find the answer to each task, without any visual design cues or page content.
Tree testing is typically done early, often before visual designs exist, ensuring that the system’s organization supports user mental models. This method is particularly valuable in minimizing work later in the process.
First-Click Testing
First-click testing, on the other hand, evaluates the effectiveness of a design’s layout and navigation by focusing on where users click first to complete a task. It tests if users intuitively know where to start on a page or interface to accomplish their goal.
The process of first-click testing includes developing a prototype or mockup, setting realistic tasks, testing participants, recording first-click positions, analyzing efficiency, and refining the design. This method is valuable in early to mid-design phases to ensure users’ initial instincts align with the intended user flow.
Card Sorting
A new method introduced in the video is card sorting, a method used in early-design testing to minimize work later in the process. While no further details about the card sorting method were provided in the video, it is clear that it plays a significant role in validating information structure and user navigation behavior.
The image accompanying the article is copyrighted by Christian Briggs and the Interaction Design Foundation, under the CC BY-SA 3 license. However, it is not directly related to the methods of early-design testing mentioned in the video.
In conclusion, early-design testing methods such as tree testing, first-click testing, and card sorting are essential tools for designers, helping to reduce costly changes later by validating information structure and user navigation behavior in low-risk, controlled experiments. These methods are typically combined with iterative prototyping and usability testing to refine the product iteratively.
