On The Topic Of Product Testing

Product testing is one of the most important steps in the creation/development process.

I’m back to blogging. Reading up lately on design and software development philosophies/practices, I wanted to write something about product testing. I wrote something similar a few months ago, but I’ve learned new stuff since then and it makes sense to keep writing about something so important.

“Testing a product is a learning process.” – Brian Marick

When testing a product there are a few things that need to be taken into consideration. I made this list mainly in the context of software and technology related products(However it may apply to other areas):

1. Know the scope of your client’s needs. How does the product size up to the consumer’s needs? Does the product work smoothly? Does the it reach every requirement? If these areas weren’t crystal clear in the beginning of the project, the project doesn’t have a well defined goal–which will make testing pretty much a hell-on-earth/stupid and pointless.
2. Put yourself in the consumer’s hat. Or rather in the consumer’s shoes. How do you feel, as the user, using your own product? Are you frustrated, nervous, satisfied, surprised…?“To find the bugs that customers see – that are important to customers – you need to write tests that cross functional areas by mimicking typical user tasks. This type of testing is called scenario testing, task-based testing, or use-case testing.” (Brian Marick)
3. Toughen up the soft spots. When you end up saying, “using this feature makes me nervous…” or when you feel uneasy about a certain aspect of the product, you haven’t tested it enough.
4. Be thorough. Every aspect of your design is susceptible to errors and flaws. If you just do a quick once over and assume that the rest takes care of it’s self, your basing all of your hard work and credibility on an assumption. Bugs are normal and usually somewhat acceptable, however sloppy errors can be disastrous. Expect an error lurking in every corner.
5. Testing is a skill. There are some great development practices and guides out there. Almost all of them include “testing” as a step or level in sequence with development for instance, deployment, planning, assessment, quality assurance, etc. etc. Any organized, knowledgeable, skilled team recognizes the importance of testing whatever they design. “Testing is a skill. While this may come as a surprise to some people it is a simple fact.” – Graham Fewster

These are just a few areas covered on product testing. Practicing good error management skills will move your product one step closer to success. Testing isn’t just a matter of testing, it’s a major step which requires a great deal of attention. If your not properly testing(or don’t have a proper tester) you may be harming your product and wrecking your chances.

I urge you to go to this site: Software Testing and Quality Assurance, I found some awesome articles there on software testing and the like.

Thanks for reading!

-Clinton