Choosing the right kind of test for your software

test IO offers several types of exploratory functional tests, as well as usability testing, all carried out by carefully selected and trained human testers. These tests are designed to get you the kinds of results you need in the time frame you need. Here is what each one can do for you.

As the name implies, rapid tests are fast and can complete in as little as two hours. They're designed to catch high-priority bugs in a small set of functionality. When should you run a rapid test? They're perfect for when you're about to launch a new build or make a pull request. Rapid tests give you the peace of mind that your app does what it's supposed to, and that it works on the devices you need it to. When you run a rapid test, you're looking for a green light or a "sanity check," so some may refer to this as a smoke test.

When performing a focused test, testers delve deep into a specific feature or a section of your app. It's the equivalent of putting a part of your software under the microscope. Many teams choose to run focused tests when they've recently developed a new feature. It's the best way to find bugs present within new functionality, including edge cases that you haven't considered yet. When you run a focused test, you're looking for all the potential problems in a specific segment of your software.

The coverage test deals with one of the main challenges of software development: whether your app will work on phones and tablets of varying screen sizes, different browsers, multiple versions of iOS, or various Android flavors. You can specify which device types to test on as well as numerous product areas. It's a great way to make sure that your software works on a variety of real devices before release or following major changes. In particular, it comes in handy when most of your developers work on a single platform like Chrome or the latest version of iOS.

From early-stage feedback to pre-release testing to finding usability issues in production, this test gets you feedback from a diverse group of usability testers. For better results and more useful suggestions, we recommend adding user stories, scenarios, or even surveys for the testers to fill out. However, you can also request an evaluation of an individual feature or the overall user experience. Testers will present their opinions organized by your features.

Test Templates are our way of making this process easier for you. Found a test type and set up that works great for you? Save it as Test Template. The next time you go to run a test, it will be available under the Test Templates button.

Have more questions about the kinds of QA tests you can run on test IO? Get in touch for a demo!