The Problem of End User Modeling

Everysoftware testing type, for example, mobile testing or website testing, will be more effective if the modeled end user’s behavior is taken into account during product development and checking.

This fact is well-known to every specialist of software testing company. But there is a huge number of users who have their own peculiarities and needs. How to analyze all these parameters? How to define the most important issues?  

What Facts Are Necessary for End User Modeling?

• Location and place of product usage. It is important to analyze the weather conditions, the degree of lighting, etc.
• Network. The application functionality depends on the quality of network and its speed.
• Occupation. It is necessary to know the profession of the majority of future users, whether they work in office or outdoors, whether it is manual work, etc.
• Simultaneous launching. One may use several applications at the same time. As a result, the program behavior can be somehow changed. All these possible changes should be found out during testing. The type of software should also be taken into account.
• Duration. One may use the application with the pauses or in some intervals of time. The results of such actions should be discovered.
• Interruption. The work of application can be paused by incoming calls, messages, notifications, etc. The consequences of such interruptions should be checked during fuctional testing.

Several users’ behaviors can be modeled based on given information. Tester should think and behave as one of modeled users. In such a case, testing procedure will be more effective.

Source: QATestLab