User experience holds the key while testing an application or a website. Today, the success of any application lies in the fact that how well it is tested with the users using them. By including User Acceptance Testing (UAT) as a part of the software development process, you can ensure an error free product before its final release. In fact, users must be included at each stage of the development process.
When we talk about UAT, it’s more about functional usability. However, you can even consider including them in performance testing. This can help you in getting user feedback, which can be implemented to improve the performance of your application.
User Acceptance Testing: Objectives
- To meet the users need and reduce the development cost
- Trace issues uncovered by automated testing tools
- To support daily usage
UAT makes use of the real users as compared to the tools that use simulated users. You can include members from other department in addition to a dedicated team. However, with experience you can increase the number of testers. The same plan works for performance testing.
Some ways of getting users involved in performance testing are discussed below.
Beta Version
Today, many applications have released beta version to get the user support. Users can help fixing the bugs in an application at their own risk. Including UAT in performance testing is nothing new, as companies like Google and Apple are already incorporating this idea.
There are various ways in which you can persuade for more participation from the users. For example, you can offer incentives or allow purchasing the licensed version at a lower cost.
Testing Panel
You can form a more manageable and private group involving a small number of users. Such people can be involved periodically by giving them some assignments related to the product. This can help you get general and genuine feedback.
You can make the participation more interesting by enticing the participants with gift vouchers and coupons. This proves to be a cost-efficient and time saving process as compared to public beta.
Surveys
Surveys are the best way to get users feedback, especially when you are upgrading existing software. You can pop a small survey to know their experience with the newer version of the software.
The best way to conduct surveys is to ask small questions on a scale of 0-5. With this you can gather quantitative feedback.
Behavior and Metrics Monitoring
You can involve some users to a version of your product and secretly observe their behavior. Then, compare the performance related attributes to see any improvement in performance.
You can definitely enhance the performance testing process with the help of automated tools. However, user experience and feedback add real value to performance testing. With user acceptance testing, you can further improve users’ experience.
