Market driven approach to testing - Cigniti

HYDERABAD, India - June 4, 2013 - PRLog -- GoToMarket Testing- Need Software product ideas take off with huge aspirations and extraordinary technology ideas. Research however shows that its the simplest of the usage scenarios that the product fails to live up to when taken to the field and market trials. Beta customers fail to turn up to become first payers because it was not meeting their needs in the way they wanted. Complexity follows simplicity which is often forgotten when products are ready for release.

The key to success however would be to bring in a market driven approach to product testing rather than conventional mode of software testing. Cross Functional teams play a key role in successful product launches ensuring a completeness to the product development lifecycle. When the product under consideration has a complex field deployment cycle, OEM dependencies and complex computing environment dependencies it becomes more challenging to successfully demonstrate the value that the product brings if market centric approach is not taken. VARs and Channel partners taking the product to the market add extra dimension to ensure the product is tested according to how the launch vehicles behave and use rather than just a monolith piece of software that’s out there. Successful product companies and products are the ones which mature over a period of time accounting for what the market requires and how it is required rather than what is there in the product. Well before it reaches maturity its the first version (though the version numbers won’t readily indicate that) of the product that hits the market is a key factor in ensuring the value proposition that the product intends to offer. Many a time Startups either get going or get closed if their first release does not meet its objective considering the fact that next round of investments and fundings won’t be that easy if the first release fails. The same holds true for large enterprise software product companies which incubate product lines backed by 2-4 years of gestation cycles.

Testing V1.0 Products – Requirements and Challenges

   - Stability is important for version 1.0

- The product should do right things right as well as wrong things right, so it becomes consistent

- Intuitiveness in terms of first time user (or less technical user) feeling comfortable to use it

- Not easy to find critical defects

- Defects can be expected but should not block the use of system

   - Scalability or feeling of scalability is important

- Scalability in terms of giving better performance by adding new HW/SW resources

   - Security is of vital importance

- Feeling of new product not being secure is a big psychological block for the early adopters

   - Should give very professional touch

-Necessary documentation should be in place

-Right messages across the system

   - Functional as well as Non-functional requirement fulfillment as per the product claim

Best practices

   - A stable, proven, technically strong and flexible Testing and Release management partner

-    A testing partner who understands outsourced product testing and release management in its true sense

  - A one stop testing shop by being preferred partner in product testing

-   Ensures Software products eventually do what they are meant for.

-  Brings in a market driven approach to product testing rather than conventional mode of software testing.

-   When the product under consideration has a complex field deployment cycle, OEM dependencies and complex computing environment dependencies it becomes more challenging to successfully demonstrate the value that the product brings if market centric approach is not taken.

-  Cross Functional teams play a key role in successful product launches ensuring a completeness to the product development lifecycle – Understanding that is a key- Cigniti does it in a true sense

-  VARs and Channel partners taking the product to the market add extra dimension to ensure the product is tested according to how the launch vehicles behave and use rather than just a monolith piece of software that’s out there.

-  Extensive process, tools, and technical skills customized for product testing

-  Accounts for User Driven GoToMarket testing for a specific period of time post functional sign or a beta ready product.

-  Its all about meeting the functional needs in its simplest form than being glossy and complex

-  Covers Functionality, Usability, Reliability, Performance and Security as release ready test criteria

Successful products are those which are built, tested and deployed more from how they benefit the end customers. Ensuring this is a specialized skill that only few specialists possess. The key lies to understand this while you choose to have your products tested and adopt this approach for an accelerated market release.