No, this isn’t a test — it’s a real post about a real problem. Testing, my friends, is getting short shrift.
We’re in such a hurry to define, design, program and launch new functions that we’re glossing over the critical testing process. Trust me on this: later, when the app breaks and you’re losing customer revenue while you try to fix it, you’ll see the value of good testing. Or, even worse — the customer leaves without telling you why. You’re losing revenue without knowing it.
In small organizations, it usually falls to the programmer who built the site to do testing. Or, perhaps, the administrative contact who’s been driving business goals all along does the testing.
No offense meant, guys, but y’all are the wrong ones to be doing testing. You already know how the app works. The flow from screen to screen is clear to you, so the whole thing makes pretty good sense. You know what “enter your TCLD code” means. You’re using a hopped-up computer, virus- and trojan-free, with the latest big-screen display. Unexpected, random clicks are not part of your process.
Don’t underestimate the value of first impressions. Users coming to a site for the first time can make very different assumptions than ones who saw it being built, or those who know the business rules behind it.
What we need is Agent Smith (he of Men in Black fame) and his memory-erasing light bar. Then y’all would be excellent testers…
Do the best you can — or at least, better than the last time. If you can’t get fresh eyes on the new stuff you’re racing to complete, use the seasoned old ones you’ve got. Schedule a testing phase anyway, even if it’s only an hour or two. Take a deep breath — and pretend. Imagine you’ve never seen this stuff. Imagine the kids keep bothering you and you have to figure out where you were on the page. Imagine you’re also playing fantasy football in another browser window. (Actually, you probably are, so that’ll be easy….) Shrink your display to 800 by 600, close your eyes, and when you open them, pay attention to the first thing you see (and the second).
Whatever shortcuts you have to take, make sure the brass know that shortcuts were necessary (blame it on bad scheduling, or technical problems, or hurricane Jeanne) — and that next time, you hope to have the time and resources to do it better. Say it in a nice way, though. They pay the bills…
