by Sadhvi Singh | 20 September 2020
According to a study conducted by BusinessofApps, app retention is measured at 11 individual sessions. Since 2012, app retention has stayed in the 30% ballpark, going as high as 39% in 2014 and dipping to 32% in 2019. Why were people less likely to frequently use an app in 2019?
Declines In App Retention
Perhaps it’s due to the sheer number of available apps in both the AppStore and Google Play Store. In 2019, consumers had their pick of 2.6 million Android and 2.2 million iOS apps
App Downloads in 2019
Another consideration is that 25% of all apps downloaded globally are only used once. An app needs to make a lasting, positive impression on the first use to withstand the high turnover rate. However, a good impression isn’t possible if developers are not conducting quality assurance (QA) tests before launching an app.
Without QA, a new app can suffer a severe downturn in retention. Consumers want a glamorous, easy-to-use, and fully functional application right when they download a promising new app. If a developer fails to deliver an engaging experience, the retention rate drops low and stays low.
QA: The Underrated Step of Development
QA testing is severely underrated and is a leading cause of most app retention issues. Many developers fail to see the importance of testing new mobile applications, which typically leads to prevalent bugs and poor customer experiences.
When testing is done correctly, the app looks great, works well, and offers easy consumer engagement. Without testing, a developer might produce an app that looks nice and seemingly performs well, but that also has holes in the development that were never caught pre-launch. Without excellent functionality, a nice-looking app is useless to the consumer. It is better to have poor design than poor functionality, though both are essential to retaining customers.
What does QA Testing involve?
QA is the process where developers run the application through various tests to check the functionality and look for bugs. However, QA is not only about fixing bugs. Testing also makes sure that the app flows nicely and that each function makes sense to the user.
Testing involves:
- Finding and fixing errors and bugs
- Finding issues with the UI/UX
- Checks that all app requirements are in place
- Checks for logical flow
While it might be tempting to skip QA when a developer is rushing an app to market, it can lead to the app’s downfall.
QA Testing Strategies
There are two main strategies of testing that a developer can follow.
Both are valuable.
- Manual Testing:
Manual testing involves testing each aspect of the apps function manually. This is usually done by a QA analyst who methodically works through all the app’s features to find any errors that occurred during the development process.
The QA analyst will execute various app tests and use cases and develop reports on the application’s functionality. Test cases are conditions set by the analyst to test specific features and designs of the app.
Manual testing is completely done without the use of automation tools and is only done by human analysts. This type of testing has more flexibility than automated because the analyst can perform exploratory tests. Manual tests are typically better for Android apps than iOS because iOS testing requires specific tools to find bugs that make the process challenging for analysts.
- Automation Testing:
With automation testing, developers must write codes for the testing process. The codes enable the automation tools to perform testing protocols on the specified app features. Automation tests are often performed faster than manual tests.
When done correctly, automation testing finds more bugs and errors than manual testing. The initial investment in automation tests is high, but most apps have a higher long-term return on investment (ROI).
Automation testing is the preferred method for iOS applications because it is already enabled with the correct tools that iOS apps require.
Which testing strategy is better?
- Android: Manual testing is better for Androids than iOS. There are several obstacles that testers must overcome when trying to do automation testing on Android apps, and the process requires a lot of up-front preparation.
- Automation Testing: Automation works smoother for iOS apps than Android because of the specific tools that iOS apps need to go through the QA testing phase. Automation tests provide immediate notifications about bugs and performance glitches in new iOS apps.
What QA tests does Navyug offer?
Performance: Niche load testing and performance services.
Automation: Outline, build, and implement testing frameworks, tools, and scripts.
Compatibility: Develop test suites and run software compatibility and interoperability tests.
Database: Quality check of every procedure, function, and trigger.
Functional: Human testing of every feature in the product.
Security: Identify vulnerabilities and mitigate security threats.
Usability: Check for usability, accessibility, and validity of the content.