Integrating CX Into Everyday QA Testing

To draw a distinction, user experience (UX) manages a user’s interaction with specific functionality. CX covers the overall impression customers have during the course of deploying and using an application to complete a task. CX also includes post-production support and the ongoing relationship between the customer and the business. Essentially, CX defines the relationship between a customer and an application provider throughout the customer’s journey. 

In many cases, the user isn’t necessarily the only customer. For example, when an organization purchases an application to input journal entries for tax filing, the purchase is typically made by a CEO or CFO. However, the actual customers are the accountants responsible for entering and managing tax filing data and processes. CX is about satisfying both the purchaser (CEO) and the accountants who use the application.

The intent of CX is to create a positive brand for applications to improve sales, satisfaction and foster loyal customers. CX succeeds when all — or, at least, most — customer interactions are positive. 

Importance of CX testing 

The more the team understands what customers want and need from an application, the fewer discrepancies and defects will be found after an application is deployed to production. When testers validate the application for CX, they reduce the number of issues reported to support. Additionally, team collaboration improves between development and support teams, adding to the overall quality across the CX journey. 

Performing CX testing leads to: 

• higher user retention or customer satisfaction levels
• increased competitive advantage
• reduced support costs 
• enhanced brand image and reputation 
• improved business revenue and impact

CX testing benefits both an application’s customers and its internal development teams. By performing CX testing, a development team gains a more thorough understanding of the customer’s needs for application functionality, performance levels, connectivity requirements and security needs. A comprehensive understanding of the diverse customer base and its various personas enables the design and development of personalized applications tailored to each customer. Personalization builds a business relationship between the application provider and its customers. Additionally, adding CX testing into the testing process helps ensure the application meets customer expectations during iterative development cycles. 

Integrating CX into QA

The first step in integrating CX with QA testing is to collaborate with existing product management, design and UI/UX teams. Typically, development teams rely on the customer research performed by other teams. When such teams exist, gather them together and share learnings on how they establish customer personas and conduct UX research. 

Next, request that a designated development team member work with those teams to create a customer journey map. These maps provide a template for gathering customer feedback data on an application in development or in production. The map details a customer’s thoughts, emotions, pain points and preferred communication channels, as well as the functions in the application they tend to avoid. If the application under test is still in development, create a working prototype before charting a customer journey map. 

Consider conducting customer interviews, or moderated interviews, to create accurate personas. UI/UX, usability or user acceptance testing teams typically conduct these interviews. If the development team does not have access to these resources, consider sharing recordings or transcripts. 

Development teams might also opt to use AI for CX testing. Many CX tools provide templates for creating a customer journey map with the help of AI tools. But keep in mind that AI tools might only be effective for applications that are already in production and have customer data available. For new applications, use AI to create suggested personas and then rely on human team members to validate and fill in the relevant details. As of now, most application customers are human. That means human testing and input on customer personas are significant advantages for creating accurate customer personas. 

CX testing types to consider

Integrating CX testing into QA routines and strategies includes several steps, including adding valid these testing options: 

• visual testing
• user persona testing
• prototype testing
• customer journey testing
• A/B testing with customers

For efficiency, mix CX testing into existing QA strategies. To maximize the effectiveness of CX testing, perform it during everyday testing scenarios, including functional and feature testing. Whatever you do for daily manual and automated testing, add CX validation to the planned test suites.

Visual testing, which works well with test automation, helps catch any display bugs that affect a page or screen. Visual testing validates layout, color schemes, fonts and even images to confirm no changes have altered the expected page displays. 

Visual testing is an essential way to promote a positive customer experience. Customers expect applications to appear and function consistently, regardless of the device. Consistent presentation and performance improve CX and build confidence in the application, even if the automation requires some initial cost and effort. 

User persona testing means having testers run through each user’s approach with the application. Most often, testers use exploratory testing methods to look for issues. User persona testing helps provide broader defect coverage by simulating different ways to complete various types of work. 

Prototype testing is particularly useful for either new applications or ones that have functions that have undergone significant changes. Most teams skip prototypes, especially where development teams can quickly ramp up features. When Agile teams create continuous updates, testing typically begins in development and expands from there for further testing. 

Customer journey testing involves developing test scripts that cover a customer’s experiences through all possible interaction points. Instead of testing whether functionality meets specified requirements, testers validate that the application works for a customer. For this CX method, test scripts must go beyond usability and accessibility testing to validate CX from purchase through to production support. It’s different for testers, as they must collaborate with deployment and customer support. 

Consider executing A/B testing iteratively to meet customers’ needs as applications change. A/B tests rely on a testing schedule managed by a QA team in collaboration with customers and customer support personnel. A/B testing can be time-consuming to manage, but it is an exceptional way to help an application keep up with customer expectations. Just remember that teams must re-execute testing as the application changes. 

Outperforming the competition

Testing to validate a positive CX helps applications meet customer expectations and outperform most competitors. Building CX into iterative and daily QA testing strategies fosters a positive experience from contact through usage and after deployment to production. It’s a different testing approach — teams might need time to learn how to collaborate with customer support to validate a post-production experience.

For organizations struggling to adjust to the learning curve or seeking world-class expertise, Applause offers a comprehensive suite of solutions that provide authentic, real-world user insights throughout the development lifecycle. Applause offers experts who precisely match user profiles from its diverse, global community of testing experts and end users. 

Applause helps enable various CX testing methods, including qualitative UX studies that assess products or features in design/development, delivering more intuitive user experiences and informing customer-centric decisions. For customer journey testing, Applause mobilizes in-market testers to replicate end-to-end experiences across digital and/or physical touchpoints in real-world conditions. Our experts identify friction points that lead to abandonment and provide actionable feedback on functional, payment and user experience issues.

Contact Applause to chart a path to meeting your CX and QA goals.