So, you have finished all your mobile app development work. Your mobile application is complete and ready to launch. But wait! Have you done user testing on your application? If not, you are one crucial step behind your app launch. User testing is one of the best ways to enhance mobile app performance before your users see it.
You bring a mobile app to your business so that customers can reach you more easily. To do that, you have to look at many aspects and picture several scenarios. Mobile app development is not as easy as it seems. It involves many steps and technicalities. As a result, you may overlook user testing because the development work has overwhelmed you.
However, user testing is a crucial step in app development. It tells you whether your app is ready to launch. If you skip it, there is a huge chance your application will fail. Why is that?
Why User Testing Helps Enhance Mobile App Performance
User testing is a phase where you find out how your application performs and whether it has any issues. With these insights, you can fix problems and bugs. You can also optimize the UI/UX for better performance.
Now, imagine you launch your application without doing any of this. Your application goes straight into the hands of prospective leads and customers. If any issue arises, users have a poor experience. They will simply leave your application. Whatever you do later, the app has already given a bad experience, and it takes a lot more to fix things. User testing before launch could have saved you all that trouble.
This shows why user testing matters if you want to enhance mobile app performance. However, like the entire mobile application development process, user testing can be daunting and hectic, especially if you are new to it. You may ask many questions. What is user testing about? How do I go about it? What do I need to test? When do I start?
So, how do you make the process easier and smoother? There are just six steps you need to know, and user testing will be a breeze for you.
Before we get to them, let’s look at what user testing is.
What is User Testing?
User testing is a process where you recruit a group of experienced professionals to try your application before its launch. They help you identify potential issues and bugs. They also help you judge its performance and how engaging it is.
You set up a testing environment where real people can use the app like any other application. They then judge its usability.
The tests judge the application on user behaviors and patterns. The focus is on making sure that even unfamiliar users find the application easy to use.
Besides that, the tests also reveal new opportunities that can improve the application. They also bring existing issues to light so that you can fix them.
6 Steps to Enhance Mobile App Performance with User Testing
User testing is daunting and challenging, more so if you are new to it. However, with the right knowledge, everything becomes easier. Here are six steps for efficient user testing of your applications.
Step 1: Identify Your Goals
First, you need to know what you want to test in your application. User testing checks the performance of the application. However, the parameters you use to check performance vary for every application. So, look at the purpose of your application and identify the goals for the user testing. This gives you a clear definition of what you want to test.
As you define these goals, also look at the stage you are at in app development. Different stages need different kinds of testing. Keep up with that so that your user testing is effective and gives accurate results.
You can run these tests in the pre-development, during-development, and post-development stages.
Before development, the focus is on finding and exploring better opportunities, features, and functions for the app. At this stage, you also need to look at the behavior patterns of your users. This helps you keep the app friendly to the user’s needs and demands.
During development, testing focuses on validating the features and functions in the application. You have to stay focused on the users. Check whether the application offers a great user experience.
After development, testing gives the application a final check. Here the focus is on checking application performance. You find problems and bugs and fix them to optimize the UI/UX. Additionally, this process never stops. You have to keep looking at your application to make sure it performs consistently.
Step 2: Determine the Method You Shall Use for Testing
You can do user testing in several ways. However, not every way will help you reach your goals. So, you have to figure out the right way.
User testing can be in-person or remote. It can be moderated or unmoderated. All these ways have their own pros and cons.
With in-person testing, you have easier access to the people testing your application. However, it is more hectic, because you have to schedule the tests and manage time. Moreover, the tester may feel conscious or under pressure and may not share the correct observations.
Remote testing, in contrast, is more candid. Testers have the flexibility to work on their own timings. They know that nobody is watching them as they use the app. So, they feel less pressure and give better and more accurate observations. However, there is no real-time connection.
Moderated and unmoderated testing differ in whether you can ask the testers further questions about their comments and feedback. You can do this in moderated testing, but not in unmoderated testing.
So, what is perfect for you? There is no single answer. It depends on your goals and preferences. There may not be one perfect way either. You can pick a combination of several methods that best suit your business goals.
Step 3: Recruit the Participants for Testing
Once you have identified the goals and decided the method, it’s time to find people who will do the testing. This is a challenging task, because you cannot just pick any person.
There are parameters you need to set. First, it’s best if your target audience tests the application. So, before you recruit any participant, look at the target audience for the application.
Next, the experience of the tester matters. A person who has no idea how your application works or what its purpose is will find it very hard to find issues. You cannot give opinions on topics you know nothing about. So, find people who know the kind of features and functions your application provides. You can recruit people who already use similar applications. They can give you very accurate results.
Another factor is the number of users you recruit. This matters because every user you recruit costs you money. So, decide on just the number of users that you need for accurate results.
Statistics show that you find 100% of the issues and problems when 5-7 users test your application. The same statistics also reveal that the maximum number of users you need is 15. Even then, after some tests, the same issues keep coming up. That only wastes time, effort, and cost.
So, around five, seven, or ten users is the best option for you.
Step 4: Set Up Your Testing Materials and Testing Environment
Once you have the participants ready, tell them exactly what you want them to test. For this, go back to the goals you set in the first step. Participants need to know these goals so that they have a direction for testing. So, set the objectives for the user and brief them. This forms the testing script.
Next, set up a testing environment in which your participants will work. This depends on the testing method you chose. If it is in-person, you need space where users and moderators can sit and work. Even with remote testing, you need a testing environment. It helps you overcome connectivity issues and gives users a smooth way to test. If users do not have the environment they need, their experience of the application suffers, and so do the test results.
It is also a good idea to run some practice tests in the testing environment before you open it to your participants. This prevents issues with the testing environment during the tests, which could hinder the whole user testing process.
Step 5: Run the Test
It’s finally time for what you have been preparing for all this while. If you have gone right until now, you will find this the easiest step.
Your participants have their script and the testing environment. They know what to do. Now they run the tests and start meeting the set goals and objectives.
While the tests run, you need to get continuous feedback on the performance of the application. With in-person moderated testing, this is easy, because there is a real-time connection and you can keep asking users questions.
For any other method, however, you need to be more proactive. You can collect feedback through e-mails, or you can collect it in the testing environment. Also, make sure you complete all follow-ups right after the test finishes. The results are fresh in the users’ minds then. If you take or fill in follow-ups later, the results will not be as accurate, and this can jeopardize the entire test.
Step 6: Analyze and Fix the Issues Based on Test Results
The process does not end with the tests. You need to go further. You ran the tests to analyze the performance of the application. They give you insights into its performance and the issues it has.
You need to go back and fix those issues to enhance mobile app performance and user experience. To fix them, first analyze the test results to understand the problems clearly. Then you can reach a proper solution.
After you have analyzed everything, create an action plan with your team. Then work to make the application better and ready for launch.
Some More Tips for Efficient User Testing
These steps go a long way in helping you test your application for great performance and business success. However, there are some more things to keep in mind as you follow them. Here is what you need to remember.
Record the Tests
You may need to go back and watch what happened during a certain test. It won’t be feasible to conduct the entire test again for any reason. You don’t even need to. You can record the tests while they run. This gives you a complete directory of the tests you performed, how they went, and what the results were. It is also an easy way to go back in time and rewatch the tests.
Assumptions Do Not Work
You need to be clear with your goals and instructions to your participants. You cannot assume that participants will achieve the goals unless you are specific. Provide a clear testing script, and avoid jargon and technical terms. Also, follow up regularly. Any assumption at any point in the testing works against the success of your application.
Be Sure to Test Over Multiple Platforms
Mobile applications run on multiple platforms. In today’s scenario, your application needs cross-platform functions to support every platform. There is Android, iOS, and Windows, and your target audience uses all of them. So, make sure your app supports all of them. This makes it important to test your application on multiple platforms.
Know that It is an Ongoing Process
User testing is never a one-time process. With mobile applications, there is always room for improvement. You can keep adding new features and functions to your application. As you add them, you need to test their performance in advance. So, the process never ends and goes on in a loop.
Conclusion
User testing is an important phase of the entire mobile app development process, and it never ends. With proper and efficient user testing, you improve the chances of success for your application. It helps you keep enhancing the application and bring better experiences to the users.
However, the process is challenging because of the technicalities involved, and you need to know the right steps. Moreover, you need the right professional guidance. When you go for mobile application development, your developers know all about user testing too. They make sure to do it before the launch. Basically, everything is interlinked. The best way to go about mobile application development and user testing is to have professionals handle it. This helps you make your application a success, which in turn helps you achieve business growth, profitability, and scalability. If you want help, contact our team.
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