SaaS Settings & Admin Tree Test Template
Settings pages are where SaaS UX falls apart. Users look for billing and find security. They look for integrations and find API tokens. This free template validates whether admins and end users can find the things that matter — billing, members, integrations, security — in your settings hierarchy.
Why Tree Test SaaS Settings
Settings are the highest-stakes navigation in your product. A user who can't find "Cancel subscription" stays — but rates you 1 star. A user who can't find "Add team member" doesn't expand seats. Both outcomes hurt retention and revenue.
Tree testing reveals:
- Which admin tasks are buried (high failure rate)
- Where billing-related items get confused with general account settings
- Whether your "Security" section is the right home for things like SSO, sessions, and API keys
- Whether end users can self-serve common tasks without contacting support
Run a tree test:
- Before launching a redesigned settings panel
- After consolidating multiple settings pages into one
- When support tickets show users keep emailing you to find things
- Before adding a major new settings area (e.g., adding billing to a previously-free product)
Template Overview
What's Included
- Sample settings tree for a typical B2B SaaS app
- 10 task scenarios spanning billing, team, integrations, and security
- Role-based variants (admin vs. end user)
- Success rate benchmarks by task category
Recommended study type: Tree test on your settings hierarchy Suggested participants: 25-40 (ideally split between admins and members) Time to complete: 6-8 minutes per participant Analysis time: 1-2 hours
The Template: SaaS Settings Tree
Sample Tree Structure
Settings
├── Profile
│ ├── Personal Info
│ ├── Notifications
│ ├── Password
│ └── Two-Factor Authentication
├── Workspace
│ ├── General
│ ├── Members
│ ├── Roles & Permissions
│ ├── Single Sign-On (SSO)
│ └── Audit Log
├── Billing
│ ├── Plan & Pricing
│ ├── Payment Methods
│ ├── Invoices
│ ├── Usage
│ └── Cancel Subscription
├── Integrations
│ ├── Connected Apps
│ ├── Webhooks
│ ├── API Keys
│ └── OAuth Apps
├── Security
│ ├── Login History
│ ├── Active Sessions
│ ├── IP Allowlist
│ └── Data Export
└── Help
├── Documentation
├── Contact Support
└── Keyboard Shortcuts
The 10 Tasks
These cover the most common settings flows. The first 5 are end-user tasks; the last 5 are admin tasks.
End-User Tasks
Task 1: Update Notification Preferences
"You're getting too many email notifications and want to turn some off. Where would you go?"
Expected path: Profile → Notifications Success rate benchmark: 85-95%
Task 2: Reset Password
"You want to change your password. Where would you go?"
Expected path: Profile → Password Success rate benchmark: 90-98%
Task 3: Enable Two-Factor Authentication
"Your security team asked you to enable 2FA. Where would you go?"
Expected path: Profile → Two-Factor Authentication Success rate benchmark: 70-85% (often confused with Security section)
Task 4: View Invoices
"You need to download last quarter's invoices for your finance team. Where would you go?"
Expected path: Billing → Invoices Success rate benchmark: 80-90%
Task 5: See What Plan You're On
"A teammate asked which plan your company is on. Where would you check?"
Expected path: Billing → Plan & Pricing Success rate benchmark: 75-85%
Admin Tasks
Task 6: Invite a New Team Member
"You need to add a new colleague to the workspace. Where would you go?"
Expected path: Workspace → Members Success rate benchmark: 80-90%
Task 7: Set Up SSO
"Your IT team wants to enable single sign-on for your workspace. Where would you go?"
Expected path: Workspace → Single Sign-On (SSO) Success rate benchmark: 60-75% (often misplaced under Security)
Task 8: Get an API Key
"A developer needs an API key to integrate your data with another tool. Where would you go?"
Expected path: Integrations → API Keys Success rate benchmark: 65-80%
Task 9: Review Who's Logging In
"You want to see if anyone has signed in from suspicious locations recently. Where would you go?"
Expected path: Security → Login History Success rate benchmark: 55-70% (often confused with Audit Log)
Task 10: Cancel the Subscription
"Your company decided not to renew. Where would you cancel the subscription?"
Expected path: Billing → Cancel Subscription Success rate benchmark: 60-80% (often deliberately buried — measure carefully)
How to Run This Template
- Sign up free at validatethat.io
- Create a tree test from your dashboard
- Paste the tree above (the tool accepts indented text)
- Add the 10 tasks as task scenarios
- Tag participants by role if your tool supports it (admin vs. member)
- Share the participant link with your customer list or panel
- Analyze success rates by task and by role
A SaaS settings tree test typically reaches significance with 25-40 participants and finishes in 2-4 days.
Interpreting Your Results
Compare Admin vs. End-User Success
If admins have 90% success on Workspace tasks but end users have 40%, your settings probably aren't role-segmented enough. Consider hiding admin-only sections from non-admins entirely.
Watch the Audit Log vs. Security Confusion
This is the most common SaaS settings IA mistake. Audit Log is usage history. Security is access controls. Users conflate them. If your test shows Security clicks for "what happened" tasks, rename Audit Log to "Activity" or "Usage Log."
Cancel Subscription Should NOT Be Buried
If your test shows 30% find rate for "Cancel Subscription," that's a dark pattern, not a UX issue. The legal and trust cost of forced retention exceeds the revenue benefit.
Common SaaS Settings IA Mistakes
1. "Settings" Is Itself the Problem
Using the word "Settings" as a top-level item, then putting everything underneath, gives users no orientation. Top-level groupings (Profile, Workspace, Billing) should appear in the navigation directly.
2. Mixing Personal and Workspace Settings
If a user toggles "dark mode" in workspace settings and it changes for the entire team, that's an IA failure. Personal settings (mine) and workspace settings (ours) should be visibly separate.
3. Burying SSO Under "Security"
SSO is configured by IT admins, not security teams. Putting it under a security tab makes IT admins hunt for it. Workspace → SSO is more discoverable.
4. Hiding Cancel Subscription
Beyond the ethics issue (see above), hiding cancellation increases support load and damages trust. Most teams who hide it lose more from negative reviews than they gain from forced retention.
5. Treating "Integrations" as a Single Bucket
API keys, OAuth apps, webhooks, and connected apps are all different things. Lumping them under "Integrations" forces users to scan a long list. Sub-grouping helps.
Adapting for Your Product
Single-User SaaS (no team)
- Drop the Workspace section
- Move Members → Billing as "Seats"
- Simplify
Enterprise SaaS
- Add Compliance section (HIPAA, SOC 2, audit reports)
- Add Data Residency / Region settings
- Add Custom Roles (for granular RBAC)
Free / Freemium Product
- Hide the Billing section for free users
- Add "Upgrade" CTA prominently
Developer Tool / API-First
- Promote API Keys and Webhooks to top-level
- De-emphasize Profile
Get Started
Run this tree test on your settings page today. Start free on ValidateThat — no credit card, no contract.
For more navigation validation, see our tree testing guide or card sorting templates for upstream IA work.