{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/test-the-navigation-before-polishing-the-page",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1092",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Test the navigation before polishing the page",
  "summary": "A beautiful menu can still send people to the wrong shelf.",
  "kind": "protocol",
  "body": "Represent the navigation as a simple text hierarchy. Give participants realistic information needs and let them choose a destination. Record routes, backtracking and final choices before changing the labels or structure.",
  "limits": [
    "Tree testing deliberately removes visual context. A good result still needs validation in the built interface."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "product-discovery-50"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-DEBD82EF96CFBE20"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "Tree testing evaluates whether people can locate destinations in a hierarchy without the visual interface.",
      "source_id": "RS-DEBD82EF96CFBE20",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "Visual cues and interaction behavior remain outside this test.",
      "locator": "Text-only tree and task procedure."
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "A growing content library has plausible categories but uncertain findability."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "Tree testing deliberately removes visual context. A good result still needs validation in the built interface."
  ],
  "example": "For a corpus library, ask where to find help checking an AI-generated answer, not where to find AI assurance.",
  "check": "Can people reach a useful destination without relying on images or moderator hints?",
  "steps": [
    "Choose important retrieval tasks, including items that could plausibly belong in two places.",
    "Keep task wording independent of the category labels.",
    "Review mistaken routes, revise one suspected grouping or label, and test fresh tasks or participants."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-DEBD82EF96CFBE20",
      "title": "Tree Testing: Fast, Iterative Evaluation of Menu Labels and Categories",
      "url": "https://www.nngroup.com/articles/tree-testing/"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1092",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1093",
      "type": "compare_with",
      "url": "/knowledge/let-users-group-the-content-before-naming-the-categories"
    },
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1092",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-1098",
      "type": "useful_with",
      "url": "/knowledge/give-the-user-a-goal-and-keep-your-instructions-out-of-the-result"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-B54B60261508AF85",
      "title": "Find the user problem before building more machinery",
      "url": "/collections/find-the-user-problem-before-building-more-machinery"
    }
  ]
}