Why is A/B Testing Important in Software Quality Assurance?
Be it landing pages, marketing emails, ad copies, or a simple headline — marketers have time and again used the powerful strategy of A/B testing to understand the effectiveness one variable can have on an entire website’s analytics.
So, when it comes to A/B testing for software QA, how are developers using this vital method to evaluate critical features and specifications in the websites and applications they are building?
More importantly, how is A/B testing helping amateur and experienced QA software testers in their pursuit of a flawless application? One that is foolproof with regards to performance functionality and security.
The answer is pretty simple:
A/B testing can measure the effectiveness of specific functionalities in a software application. Changes can be introduced, tested, and updated with each deployment cycle, and if the results are unfavorable, the application can be rolled back predictably.
In one of their tech blogs, Netflix fervently vouches for A/B testing in its content delivery algorithms and adaptive streaming to deliver a flawless feed of entertainment titles, tailormade to each user’s interests.
From constantly altering the home feed to introducing picks of the day and changing thumbnails thrice a day, they exhaustively A/B test each element on the UI/UX front: the result- a flattering 20% to 30% jump in viewing for each title.
Why do we need A/B testing for software quality assurance?
A/B testing a software product helps improve its quality and answers these two questions:
- Why (and how) is the product working?
- How do we make it better?
A/B testing can answer these questions through data. This data pertains to -
- Who uses the software/application?
- How do they use it?
- What features in your application matter to them?
A/B testing for software QA is an absolute necessity for building robust software and delivering applications/solutions that ultimately meet the end-user expectations. An application may not be the best or most efficient in its prototype stage or first launch. With time and ongoing feedback, the versions that succeed can be better suited to users.
Having a beta team to roll out new features is very helpful. It helps in making significant changes that can seriously hamper the existing application and sway users away.
Key advantages of using A/B testing to improve software quality:
Product managers are often perplexed with the validity of A/B testing and ponder over it being a risky expense. However, these myths should be debunked. A/B testing is not only a great way to add or improve product functionalities, but it also helps you in knowing what is right and wrong by targeting your current set of customers.
Increase in conversions
The prime benefit tapped by A/B testing for software QA is an increase in overall profitability. Conversions could be sales, downloads, or lead generation, depending on the type of offering. When you know what works for your product, you can offer software solutions with value.
A data-driven approach
A/B tests help remove the guesswork in optimizing your product. We call them data-driven because it is the data, numbers, statistics, and analytics, based on which we know if the changes we did are good or bad. The results of the testing are not affected by biases or opinions of any kind.
Target audience-driven decision-making
A/B testing verifies a variation based on the behavior of people who use your application and engage with it. Therefore, your customers are telling you how you can make your software better for them.
Large sample size and segmentation
A/B testing allows you to find out what works for different sets of your audience based on demographics, geographic location, behavior, psychographics, type of device used, and other parameters.
For example, an application can have different homepages for its PC and mobile users. When changing a CTA button on the UI, you will need to change the button’s dimensions and color accordingly with the device layouts.
Quantification of value change
Compared to the control results as in the lift or drop percentage, a change in a test variable will let you know the impact that a particular variable has on the test results.
Understanding of best practices
A/B tests are a way to learn more about your product. No matter whether the test fails or succeeds if the test is structured correctly, you always learn what works best for your product or which changes should and should not be done in due course.
In other words, failing tests help you learn the most.
Low-risk involvement
If you suddenly introduce a change to your software that has not been tested, you are taking a deep plunge. You wait with fingers crossed, hoping the change brings back good results. But what if it doesn’t? You lose time and money.
A/B testing is a safe way to test the waters. When you implement the change to a limited window, even the failure rate will be minimal. You can learn from this failure, move on, and make it better.
Takeaways:
A/B testing is undoubtedly a powerful and safe tool for evaluating how small changes can affect user experience and usability, realizing the ultimate goal of profitability.
However, it is a complicated discipline that takes time to master. In the absence of an experienced QA software tester, you might get misguided with the testing process.
Certain steps such as defining the business question, brainstorming potential actions, creating variations, tracking the primary metrics, running the tests, and ultimately analyzing the tests’ results require the help of experienced A/B testing software QA professionals. Therefore, it is vital that you get an industry expert to work with you.
