Apps should never be released to the public until they have been thoroughly tested for quality assurance. QA testing ensures not only that the app is not confusing for users, but it also works as intended too.
Doing so prevents an app from getting an early reputation for low quality – including negative public customer reviews – which often can never be recovered from later.
Here are some suggestions on how to improve QA testing to release a better product.
Planning
Quality Assurance Planning is required to create an effective application testing process that delivers reliable results. To not do so creates a scenario where the app was tested rather haphazardly, leading to inferior and/or inconsistent results.
While it can be useful to test apps not following the usual or expected path to discover new potential issues that deviate from expectations, not all testing should be like that. By planning out what and how the app will be tested, realistic results can be achieved.
A Quality Management Plan discusses product quality and what’s required to achieve it. The Test Strategy and Test Plan broadly layout the software testing strategy and the individual testing processes, respectively. Test cases should also be created to devise a set of conditions, take action, and review the results. Appropriately.
Test-Oriented Development Approaches
Various test-oriented development styles help to improve the reliability of the code produced and reduce the heavy burden on the testing team. In this way, the programmer takes on some aspects of the QA testing themselves albeit in a far less controlled or systematic fashion.
Test-driven development methods may include planning code, writing it, designing the GUI, bug testing, and then returning to make improvements. This iterative approach removes larger bugs earlier in the development process.
Pair programming is also possible. This is where two developers work together as a unit. One will code the app while the other one watches on and looks for errors. Looking and initiating suggestions for a better approach or to catch errors much sooner prevents either the programmers or the QA team later getting bogged down in software bugs that could have been caught much sooner.
Work Environment
The QA department needs to have a predictable setup that supports the entire testing team. This begins with the QA lead, the Automation QA head, and the Manual QA head, then down to the individual testers carrying out the work.
High-level training, the right equipment, and software, and clear communication are all required to achieve meaningful results. Similar to the typical computing, “Garbage in, garbage out” scenario, even with solid procedures, when the work environment isn’t conducive to carrying the testing through to its logical conclusion, then the results will be inconsistent and unreliable.
User Acceptance Testing
User Acceptance Testing is conducted in two main phases:
- Alpha pre-release testing
- Beta testing
Alpha Testing
Alpha testing for apps is done internally at the developer, in most cases. The idea is that stakeholders get a first look at the app to play around with its basic functions.
At this point, it’s not fully fleshed out and will almost certainly be missing some key features. However, this provides the opportunity to get a first look. From that, the development team can see how the earliest users respond to the app. From there, they can tweak or even occasionally completely change direction based on initial feedback.
Beta Testing
Beta testing comes much later. At this point, the app is coming together quite nicely. It will usually have most, if not all, the features that will be present in the release candidate version.
This type of testing looks at what’s required by customers in the real-world and assesses the app from that viewpoint.
Automated Testing
Automated testing is required to both speed up testing iteration and to discover infrequently appearing software bugs.
Functional testing is used to examine whether the app performs all the actions correctly that users will require of it. Does the app operate in a manner that’s understandable to a reasonable person? Is it accessible and doesn’t require special knowledge?
Automated testing is a good way to find software bugs that only occasionally appear. By this, we mean ones where the app usually performs correctly but sometimes gets tripped up by the same action that worked flawlessly 100 times previously. Global App Testing provides this type of testing (and others) to speed up the QA process to locate and isolate software bugs to get them eradicated by the developers before the app is released.
Accurate Reporting
Accurate reporting is required to deliver clarity around what software bugs and other findings have come from QA sessions. This includes bug reproduction to confirm it and document it to provide background and relevance.
By following the above system, it can markedly improve QA testing for apps. Subsequently, an app can be uploaded with the confidence that it’s working well in its initial release. This avoids potential negative reviews at the beginning, which can sink a promising new app.
Also read: Non-Coders, Time for Some Effective Web & Mobile Application Testing