Overview
Information architecture research fails when the wrong method is applied to the wrong question. Card sorting answers "how should content be grouped?" Tree testing answers "can users find content in the proposed structure?" Using card sorting to validate an existing structure, or using tree testing to design a new one, produces findings that cannot be acted on.
The Tree Testing & Card Sorting Research Prompt builds an IA research program that applies the right method to the right question — with study designs that produce statistically reliable results, task writing standards that prevent leading participants to the correct answer, and analysis methods that convert findability scores into specific IA changes.
What you get: - Method selection framework: when to use open card sort, closed card sort, or tree test - Card sort study design: participant count, card count, and category naming rules - Tree test study design: task writing standards and tree depth rules - Result analysis: the metrics and thresholds that determine whether the IA is working - IA revision protocol: how to convert study findings into specific structural changes - Iteration criteria: when to re-test and when the IA is validated enough to build
Built for: UX researchers and information architects designing and validating navigation structures for web and mobile products.