When Apple launched its Maps in 2012, it was met with criticism from both the tech media and consumers. Simple address searches would give different results and strange defects in the much-hyped ‘Flyover’ feature resulted in missing buildings and bridges that appeared to have suffered some kind of catastrophic collapse.
It was, without doubt, a disaster for a company like Apple that had been riding high on the crest of the iPhone wave since 2007 when it launched.
Eddy Cue, an Apple VP who is now in charge of Maps, recently gave an interview where he made a statement, going down memory lane about what happened back in 2012. There were, however, only “dozens of people” that had been tasked with working on the app, and, most tellingly of all, Cue revealed that it is the sole reason they now offer a public beta test for the iOS mobile operating system going forward.
“The reason you as a customer are going to be able to test iOS is because of Maps,” Cue told Fast Company.
Despite their massive bank balance, Apple’s Maps failure is indicative of a changing tech landscape. Computers are everywhere, whether they be in the form of iPhones, androids, laptops, traditional desktop PCs, or tablets. The Windows PC realm in particular features a whole raft of different hardware configurations put together by both manufacturers and DIY (Do it yourself) enthusiasts.
Developing software for such a market is therefore incredibly tricky and, without the right testing plan in place, checking for as many potential failure points as possible before public release is challenging.
With a reduction in development teams and startups unable to draw from significant budgets, software testing is often dealt a rather poor hand. At worst, it is a process that is left entirely to those creating the software and, as most developers often say, the worst possible person to test an app is the one behind the code.
It isn’t possible to spot every potential software bug or predict every user quirk, but a proper testing regime is absolutely vital if an app is to survive in what is now a very crowded marketplace.
Here are 3 reasons software testing is essential.
1. Ensures The Original Concept Was Designed Properly
Not every blueprint for a piece of software is right. However, there is a decline and no matter how small, it can only be discovered during software testing, and it’s far better to make the discovery at that point than when it lands in the hands of the user.
2. Users Will Do That
Software testing can, at times, be very tasking. Surely a user wouldn’t click on that Combo box followed by that button. Would they? Maybe. However, Someone will. A big part of software testing is allowing for any unusual users who are likely to push the software beyond the intended workflow, discover errors, and report them.
3. Your Reputation Is At Stake
Imagine a car leaving the factory, without proper testing by its team of testers as a result, lots of issues will occur, thereby putting the life of the driver of the car at risk. The company behind the vehicle would be criticized and may find it difficult to recover.
The same goes for software; if it is launched to the public in a poor state, words will spread quickly, and in the world of consumer-led opinion and review websites alongside social media, that’s the last thing any business needs.
Summary
If an app fails to deliver or contains bugs that get in the way of an enjoyable experience, consumers can now move on very quickly. An app store is never more than a finger tap away, and if your time and effort spent in creating the application don’t meet the expectations of the user, they’ll simply move on to the next app in the search results.
Software testing is perhaps more important than it has ever been before. Don’t leave the success of your app to the negligence of not testing. At CodeFixBug we make software testing our number one priority before launching our client’s software
