Wearable Tech QA – Usability Testing

Wearable tech products are gathering pace in the world tech market. After a few major tech companies dipped their toes in the water, based on their relative success; many more companies are now jumping in to get a foot-hold in this rapidly expanding and exciting industry sector.

In order to support the development teams behind wearable tech such as; fitness trackers, smart watches and smart glasses etc. effective QA requires re-thinking it’s approach. The fundamental reason for this extra focus is typically required in the area of usability testing.

Often usability testing will be a factor for QA when testing mobile apps or websites, and is used to compliment other forms of more traditional QA, such as; functional testing and compatibility testing. Aspects of usability testing will typically include testing the “look and feel” of the product, end-user scenarios, colour schemes etc. For wearable tech, this type of QA cannot be performed via simulators, it must be tested on a functional product or even a prototype.

Wearable tech usability testing (when performed correctly) must ensure a product is able to fit into a consumer’s lifestyle without compromise. There are many scenarios that can easily be converted to test cases and ran against such a product. The results of these types of tests provide valuable feedback to the design and ongoing support of the product and any associated app. Some example scenarios are; the product’s workflow for changing user information is confusing or overly-complicated, maybe one of the features is sluggish, or perhaps the product’s battery life is not sufficient for a certain task. All of these simple examples can be detected by a good usability testing plan, and subsequently allow any associated firmware or software to be updated to encompass the required changes.

With wearable tech products, usability testing is paramount to a wearable tech product’s success. With most wearable tech, a consumer has several options to choose from. If they don’t like the product, they can get a refund and choose another product. Alternatively, a consumer can do a little research and read customer reviews in order to rule out poorly designed products. A Professional Wearable Tech QA Service is highly recommended to provide the necessary feedback on your product to ensure it’s ultimate success in this highly competitive marketplace.