6 Reasons your enterprise mobile app needs quality assurance testing

According to a recent Smart Insights study, 90% of consumers’ time spent on mobile devices is expended in mobile apps. Because of this proliferation in app usage, brands everywhere are rushing to create their own enterprise mobile apps, which often tend to fail due to bugs and other quality issues that could have been prevented if these apps had been put through proper quality assurance (QA) testing.

To help you better understand why quality assurance is crucial, we’ve put together this list of reasons why your enterprise app needs proper QA testing:

1. Preserve & enhance your brand’s reputation

In the same way that your website, staff, and marketing collateral speak to the quality of your brand, products and/or services, your app is another reflection of your business. If your app provides a subpar user experience, your brand image could be tainted in the eyes of your app users. Think of it like this: the quality of your brand can be equated with your app. If your app crashes or doesn’t function the way it should, users will complain about it in a public forum. The last thing you want to do is upset your users and have them vent their grievances in app store reviews or on social media. Bottom line: Keep your reputation strong so that more users will download your app and give it the positive engagement and reviews it deserves.

2. Prevent users from uninstalling your app

Did you know that, according to a recent Android Authority article, 77% of users never use an app again just 72 hours after they’ve installed it? Should your mobile app provide a poor user experience, it could wind up where thousands of apps have gone before – to the app graveyard where users uninstall or simply no longer engage with your app. If you don’t want your app to be abandoned by your users, it’s paramount that you have a process in place for thorough quality assurance – it’s crucial that you fix bugs and prevent them from popping up before your app launches in the app stores.

3. Increase app installations & engagement

Building on the previous point, if you have the right QA in place throughout your app’s development process, your app will run smoothly and provide an optimal experience for your users. And if that’s the case, you’re sure to foster app engagement, positive app store reviews, and a lift in new installations – all of which should be every developer’s goals. To restate point number one, having a high-performing app with a smooth user experience will help to bolster your brand in the eyes of consumers and other stakeholders.

4. Save cash in the long run

It’s important to keep in mind that developing an enterprise mobile app is an investment. You’re investing time and money into building an app that you hope everyone will love and use for a long time. While you may expect to receive a high return on your investment, this can and will not happen if your app fails due to low quality UI (user interface), unstable infrastructure, functionality and/or usability – issues like these will be more costly to your business than you can imagine for a number of reasons:

• App stores may penalize you, making you remove the app, fix the issues and then re-submit it for approval (which can take weeks in some cases – using up your developers time and your budget).

• As mentioned, users may get frustrated with your buggy app and vent on social media and in app store reviews, resulting in poor word-of-mouth, a reduction in new app installs, app engagement and overall perceived brand quality, which could hinder your business for years to come.

• It is far more expensive to find and fix bugs in an app later in the development process than it is to find and fix them in the early stages. As this Agile Modeling essay states, “the cost of fixing errors increases exponentially the later they are detected in the development lifecycle because the artifacts within a serial process build on each other.” In short, it is much wiser to have proper QA processes implemented right from the start of your app build. This way, you can rest assured that your app development partner will locate and resolve bugs earlier in the development process – saving you time and, potentially, exorbitant costs.

5. Decrease the threat of security-related issues

If you don’t run your app through thorough testing, you run the risk of compromising your users’ data security — and that PR nightmare is certainly not worth the risk! Be sure to have your QA team run tests on everything including basic things like app updates. Doing so will help to ensure that your users (and ultimately your brand’s reputation) are protected.

6. Reduce risk of future app problems

By having the right app, QA and testing processes in place, you’ll significantly reduce the risk of experiencing issues with your app when it launches. By ensuring your mobile app functions the way it was meant to and provides a strong user experience from the get-go, you’ll be safeguarding your investment by preventing unnecessary developer “cleaning up” costs.

To further reduce the risk of app malfunctions, it’s highly recommended that you hire a QA specialist for a number of reasons, including the fact that a fresh set of eyes can help point out bugs that may not have otherwise been discovered by your in-house team.

Beyond the basic functionality and security testing on an app, QA specialists ensure apps run properly on all of the operating systems and devices that the app was intended for. Because of the broad range of devices (from the iPad Air, to iPhone 7, Google Pixel and more), you must consider the different environments that your app will be used in. Will your smartphone app work on all versions of an operating system (OS), such as Android or iOS? What about different devices with different screen resolutions/sizes? You could make it the responsibility of your developer to test your app across devices and platforms, but that’s not likely to be their skillset. In other words, your developer’s time is best spent developing, so it’s recommended that you engage with a QA specialist who is as enthusiastic about testing as they are efficient at it.

At Atimi Software, We specialize in extensive QA testing to help ensure that your app functions flawlessly and your mobile app users have an extraordinary experience. Atimi’s proprietary scripting tools deliver complete cross-platform automated testing for any platform, substantially increasing the amount of bugs we’re able to locate and fix.

Now that you know how important it is to incorporate QA testing when developing enterprise mobile apps, you may be interested in seeing what our quality assurance process looks like. To get a feel for how we work, or if you have any questions or want to learn more about Atimi and how our experts can work for you, feel free to give us a call. We’re always happy to chat.