In the era of the digital age, there is a shift toward the use of mobile applications in our everyday routine. Whether they are bored and need something to keep them occupied, or they want to shop, find a bank, or they want to be productive, there is always an app to do anything. However, no matter how creative and advanced a given application is, it will not perform well should it is hard to navigate. Mobile application testing, notably usability testing is rather crucial in that regard.

The usability testing is the process that helps the developers of apps and QA teams to analyze how user-friendly a certain app is by using real users and watching them work with the product. Aiming to have more flight bookings, we want to provide a better user experience by designing out friction points.

We will complete this article with the best 5 usability testing methods for mobile apps to guarantee that your product is simple, effective, and pleasant to work with it.

Different Types of Mobile Usability Testing

M- usability testing is a broad term comprising various methodologies that are used to test the user interaction:

Moderated and Unmoderated Testing: In moderated testing, an expert moderator takes the users through the app, supports them in real time, and collects immediate feedback. Unmoderated testing, on the other hand, involves permitting the user to work on the app without monitoring.
Remote or In-Premise Testing: Remote testing is done online or through mobile devices without direct supervision, whereas In-person testing is done with the help of a facilitator guiding the participants by means of testing under a controlled condition.
Task-Based Testing: This test focuses on certain tasks of the app and determines the usability problems the users might face when conducting a vital task, such as making a purchase or downloading content.
A/B Usability Testing: A/B Usability testing involves testing between different versions of an app to establish one that produces the best user experience. The users will test every version to understand preferences and the goodness of UI or workflows.
Contextual Inquiry: By monitoring users using the app in real-life settings, one will be able to learn more about how the app applies to their lives and what contextual issues influence the usability of the app.

These test methodologies allow conducting an extensive testing of mobile applications so that they can be optimal in fulfilling the expectations of the users and their usability requirements.

Process of Mobile Usability Testing

Mobile applications testing is a process implemented in line with the testing of the user approachability and the functionality of the mobile applications. It consists of monitoring actual users as they use the app in order to explore the areas of possible usability problems, the user pain areas, and where to improve. In contrast to traditional testing, which is concerned with technical features, mobile app usability testing touches on user experience, navigation, and how the app could integrate user needs without any hindrance.

The rise in demand for smartphones and tablets at the cost of desktop computers increases the significance of mobile application usability testing of mobile applications substantially. Although issues of the desktop and mobile usability tests are the same, i.e., measuring user experiences, there are some differences between them.

Mobile phones are smaller in size, yet they have different interaction features such as tapping and swiping. The designers should take note of such differences in order to make convincing designs for different platforms. Speed is a very important optimization factor in mobile apps, and this is to eliminate frustration among users due to the slow response time and loading of the apps.

Testing of mobile apps on usability generates some issues that are not encountered in desktop testing. Screen size and battery restrictions may make users turn to aides in unfamiliar gestures and capabilities. To test reasonably, the conditions must be close to the real ones, which is not always easy to do when not connected to Wi-Fi or in places with a bad cellular signal strength.

Regardless of problems, a mobile usability test has advantages. It also enables developers to identify problems in it even before the release of the product and thus cutting down the cost of redesigning products after launching. The differentiation to satisfy the need of the customer is profitable in terms of profit, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. This is because the products undertake regular testing and this puts the products at level with the ever on-going electronic change and applicable to a dynamic market.

The Relevance of Usability Testing in the Mobile Apps

The ecosystem of the mobile is extremely competitive. Millions of apps are available in the App Store and Google Play, and users will immediately uninstall confusing, bug-ridden, or simply frustrating apps. And this is why mobile application usability testing must become a low priority in your development cycle.

Compared to desktop applications, mobile applications have unique usability issues:

Smaller screen and different resolutions
Touch-based interfaces
The short attention span of the user
Fragmentation of devices and OS fragmentation

In the case of updating your mobile-app testing plan with usability testing, you will ensure that the users will manage to fulfil their purposes efficiently and will have a fluid experience both on their phones or computers whether in an intended frame or not.

Good Habits of Mobile Usability Testing

In order to have effective and fluent mobile usability testing the following are the guidelines that should be followed:

Tester knowledge in devices: The testers recruited are supposed to be more than three months of using the device.This is because familiarity will make sure that testers will be very familiar with the operating system and the normal use of the device, giving a more realistic test result.
Pilot Test: Before giving out your study to your respondents, have your study piloted on someone who was not involved in the setup of the study (colleagues and friends, etc.). This assists in the transparency of duties and detects problems with the study design, which is of primary value in centers of distant testing.
Try it on a prototype first: Before entering full development, it is important to conduct usability testing of a mobile app prototype first. This low-cost method will enable you to find and correct design errors at the early stage,ppreventingg you go in into carrying out major rework.
App Store Optimization (ASO): Once the usability of your mobile app is 100 percent, work on making it visible in app stores such as iOS or Google Play. When your app is discoverable and displayed to more users, then you will be able to utilize them with the help of ASO techniques, driving your app to the right audience, in the desired way.

Practices after them improve the quality of mobile applications, making them aligned with the user expectations and market performance.

Conclusion

The successful mobile app is not just about how you code or design, but it is more about how actual users use your product. The five described above, such as remote testing, face-to-face moderated testing, and A/B testing, otherwise known as split testing, think-aloud protocol, and surveys, are seashells to polish the user experience of your app.

Making usability testing of mobile applications a central element of your mobile application testing strategy can help you identify points of friction, increase user satisfaction, and minimize churn. The result? A product that will cut through the clutter in the market and will make the users want more.

Advanced capabilities and tools that are offered by HeadSpin allow developers to detect, fix, and avoid usability problems and improve the performance of the apps in general.

Originally published at - https://d-addicts.com/top-5-usability-testing-methods-for-mobile-apps/

Top 5 Usability Testing Methods for Mobile Apps