September 10, 2018 App Development QA: Why You Can’t Afford to Skip It

Did you know that the cost to fix application errors is six times higher when identified during implementation than if found and resolved during design? This stat is only one reason that QA is critical during app development. Without a robust QA and testing protocol, you’re likely to have an app with lots of hiccups. If users experience these too often, they’ll delete your app and not look back. The demand to get it right is just as much something users are driving as it is an industry best practice.

Put the time in for app development QA

Building an app is a time of seeing ideas come to life. It’s a process that has a pretty clear workflow. Even though building apps is complex, especially depending on the functionality, it can happen in a very short amount of time if necessary. The time to market depends primarily on whether you are outsourcing or using internal resources. However, this pace of app development doesn’t mean any corners can or should be cut. You can either put the time in to check all the boxes at the beginning or be scrambling at the end, when the app nears completion.

You don’t want your users to find bugs

Users aren’t shy about sharing their feedback, and this can be really valuable when you start to upgrade and update the app. But you don’t want users to find bugs that you missed during the app’s launch. This makes your app look unprepared for the reality of everyday use.
Think about what users finding bugs would do to your brand’s reputation. If you release a new banking app for your customers, and a security flaw is found after release. You’ve damaged your credibility. Not only will you spend a lot of money, time, and effort fixing it, but you’ll also have to deal with releasing changes in a live production environment. This costs more money. Further, you’ll have to go above and beyond to assure users that the app is fixed, which will significantly impede adoption.

App development QA is more than checking off boxes

QA is a much wider discipline than simply checking the boxes on bugs. Ultimately, QA is about delivering a product that works and meets the requirements. QA looks at every function of the app to identify defects in the development phase, and could be considered as the overseer of product quality.
There are numerous benefits to QA, so it’s not really something that’s optional. For your app to deliver as you expect, QA is one of the most important parts of the entire process. These benefits include:

• Quality. When QA is employed in development, you can feel confident that your app is really ready for launch.
• Money saved. As discussed, finding bugs early is much less expensive. Software failures and post-launch corrections are costly and harder to resolve.
• User experience (UX). In the QA phase, you may find that certain things have been overlooked that would hinder UX. QA gives the app more real-world and thorough testing to ensure it’s simple to use and intuitive.
• Efficiency. QA promotes organization in development. When QA is part of the project from the beginning, apps can avoid errors and problems later on down the road.

QA is a significant part of app development. There’s no substitute for it. So, how will you test your app?

Why choose app development QA on demand

QA on demand can be an easy, cost-effective approach. This means that no matter who develops your app — internal developers or a third party — you can have a new set of eyes to test it. The developers of the app are often too close to the app to effectively test it during QA. With QA from Topcoder, your app can be tested quickly and thoroughly. The app can be real-world tested, as well as go through mobile quality checks.
Plus, your app will be tested by a global team of QA engineers — except you’ll only pay for results, not individual resources or hours. Here’s what else you can expect:

• Start QA testing in hours, not days.
• Track the status of the project easily.
• Interact with a dedicated project manager, also known as a Topcoder copilot.

Learn more today about how our QA services can accelerate the launch of your app and leave you with peace of mind that your app is ready for primetime.