The Importance of QA & Testing in the App Development Process

It’s all very well having an app for your business, but as soon as something goes wrong, the impact on your customer’s experience and overall journey can be detrimental. In some cases, it can be enough to put them off for good.

That’s why QA (quality assurance) and regular testing aren’t just recommended services but rather necessary investments in your app development and rollout plan.

QA testing keeps your app running as it should, so users stay happy, and your business stays on track.

In summary, app development testing & quality assurance is an important part of the build and maintenance process. But what does it involve and how do you make sure that testing becomes a part of your launch and app maintenance plan?

What does quality assurance involve in app development?

There are two branches of quality assurance when discussing app development:

1. Testing for bugs and ensuring buttons and clickable links work and are functional
2. Ensuring that the app does what it is designed to do, and meets business and user needs

The right app developer will bring their own knowledge of point one and will connect it with your requirements regarding point two. Crucially, they will find ways of connecting your business needs with a well-developed UX design that delights and inspires the user, supporting high retention and engagement.

The benefits of QA and testing in the app development journey

QA and testing are considered integral parts of the app development process, because of the way they encourage us to consider the design of the app, how it works, and how it promotes a positive user experience.

Once the app has been built, QA and testing continue to support the use of the app by covering early bug detection and enabling us to identify broken links and buttons before they become a major issue. These kinds of tests are also ideal for spotting potential user challenges early, and even for spotting replicated content or copy errors within the app.

The overarching aim of quality assurance checks and tests are to challenge the app and its backend functionality, to isolate potential issues and find ways to manage them before they affect the user experience. This is the level of service that separates designers from full-blown app development teams.

Common pitfalls to avoid

The biggest mistake in the world of QA and testing is delaying the rollout of tests, or assuming that a brand new app will work perfectly from day one, or that it even meets your users needs?

Once the app’s functionality has been tested, it’s easy to overlook the importance of beta testing.  This, put simply, is give it to a handful of real users and get their feedback early.  If you’ve done the scoping and UX right this should be more of a validation phase than a traditional ‘test’.  Does is solve their problems, does it facilitate their needs effectively. The answer should be yes if you’ve put the right foundations in first.  

Other common mistakes and pitfalls to avoid include underestimating the time it takes to test an app, overlooking the complexity of app testing, and focusing only on how the app looks in testing.

The importance of sustainable app development services

App development is about so much more than just designing an app and launching it for your customers or internal team. It’s about taking your vision and channelling it into a user-friendly interface that promotes and compliments your business.

When the app is launched and active, it’s about making sure that app remains accessible and easy to use – without unnecessary obstacles and issues.

At Tappable we offer app development services that include comprehensive QA checks and testing.  

For more information on this service and other services, get in touch with us directly.