Like any product on the market, digital products such as websites, apps, IoT's or smart devices, software, and more all need to be tested to verify that meet certain requirements.
Without testing, products are released to public despite having a number of bugs that negatively affect their functions, ergonomics, graphics, etc. When this happens, organizations lose consumers, soil their brand image, and more. That’s why User Experience (UX) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is so vital.
What is the User Experience?
In a nutshell, UX represents a user’s experience while using a digital product. This experience can be based on many factors including the ergonomics or feel the product, clarity of text, graphics, and more that influence the user’s experience.
Why is UX testing important?
When UX testing is skipped, development teams run the huge risk of launching a product that provides a poor user experience. An awkward layout or lack of fluidity, for example, for a mobile app, for example, can prevent engagement with content and lead to higher churn rate. For organizations to be successful, their products need to bring value to consumers, not confusion or frustration as a result of a subpar UX.
The frustration that results from a website with a poor user experience! via GIPHY
What is User Acceptance Testing?
UAT is all about testing a digital product’s functions to ensure they work according to their requirements. UAT, also known as beta testing, application testing, and end-user testing, can take place at the end of the development cycle.
UAT can also be integrated into the development process as is commonly done in the agile model. Similar to UX testing, UAT is key in discovering bugs that limit or block functions and hurt performance.
Why is UAT important?
After investing both time and resources in the development of a digital product, it is imperative to perform UAT to ensure organizations can achieve the ROI that they desire. When bugs are discovered, developers can spend time eliminating them to ensure a successful launch of their product. If not, these bugs can ruin the performance, lead to higher churn rates, lower conversion rates, and lost business opportunities.
Who Should Perform UAT & UX Tests?
While the concept of UAT and UX testing is straightforward, it does not mean that anyone should tapped to perform these tests. For one, developers should not perform UAT or UX testing since they have knowledge of the product.
Having previous knowledge can make it harder for developers to properly perform an objective evaluation of the products’ functionalities. Also, developers’s knowledge of the product prevents them evaluating the app from the perspective of the end users who do not have previous knowledge of product before it is released.
At the same time, Jim from the sales department, for example, should not be tasked to perform these tests. Although he has the objectivity that the developers lack, he does not have the testing experience necessary to be able to identify a variety of bugs that affect functions and the user experience.
Without the proper experience and know-how, Jim will also struggle to properly document and detail bugs that the dev team will rely to fix the code.
For all reasons mentioned above, many organizations turn to third-party experienced, professional QA testers. This is due to the fact these third-party testers have the skills and experience to correctly identify a wide range of bugs.
These testers also have the ability to prioritize bug fixes according to their severity, which will make bug fixes more efficient. These testers also have the tools to document bugs and provide detailed notes that will aide developers reproduce the bugs in order to correct them.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, UAT and UX testing is vital to the success of any digital product. With a vast array of testing capabilities, StarDust has the experience and capability to fulfill your UX and UAT projects. Contact us to learn more about how we can help optimize your digital products.
