The user based testing always fascinates me as the product is analyzed from the perspective of living person rather than dead code or design. A user is one who uses the “Product” or “Services”, the one who makes a product HIT or FLOP.
In last few years, I have observed that businesses are seriously considering the products from user’s point of view. Did you also update the test cases for the last product you tested? Does your test plan include scenarios for user based testing? Do you think about “User Experience” while testing the product?
The User Experience Testing or UX Testing, as most of the time we call it, is conducted to find out how user feels after using the product. Does user feel great about the product and come back for it or was it last time s/he used this product? Here, the product is tested against the emotions of the user and that is what makes it most difficult kind of testing.
When I think of Happy User Experience, the first example which comes in my mind is of IPhone. There are multiple brands with hundreds of smart phones running on different platform but still a large chunk of young population want to buy IPhone; even after the higher cost. Good user experience guarantees the Quality and people are ready to pay higher if product makes them happy.
How do you feel about IRCTC website?
Are you eager to try alternative of IRCTC, if available? If answer is “Yes”, I guess I made my point.
There are five factors I realized during testing which directly affect the user experience.
Contextual: The product should be in context with the user requirement. If not, forget user will ever use the application.
Desirable: The need is over once product is contextual. Give user what he was wishing in the product. Little more than what was needed.
Usable: The product should be easy to use. Don’t make user to go and check for the manuals.
Accessible: The product is accessible to all users – abled and disabled.
Trustable: The user should have trust on what product does and what it conveys. Branding plays an important role in building the trust. Remember ‘I’ of HICUPPSF by Michael Bolton.
Customer is the King and King has broad spectrum of options. Now, it’s just not eBay only, there are Flipkart, Amazon, Tesco, SnapDeal and 50 other online retail and market places. Everybody is selling the same product then how one can differentiate itself from the herd. This is high time to include the user based testing in your test plan. You want to guarantee success of your product – Speak your users’ minds. Remember, the $300 million button.
