Get Deep Results in A/B Testing by Asking the Right Questions

When it comes to QA, one of the biggest challenge areas that businesses and their technical teams need to confront is testing in the right areas at the right time. In today’s mobile-everything world, it is essential never to assume that a functional aspect of one viewport applies universally – especially as hardware shapes and sizes change by the month.

Beyond essential core functions, critical use of testing comes in the form of A/B tests to get a clear sense of how users are engaging with mobile sites. How in your testing can you ensure that what you uncover is an accurate reflection of usage patterns in response to the changes and site updates you have made? Fortunately, the team at MECLABS has created a foolproof checklist to help avoid what they call the Instrumentation Effect, which is precisely that – the risk of user activity changing in response to a variable that you aren’t testing for.

A successful A/B test will include a pre-launch study and a post-launch study – which is to say, address trends in user behavior before you roll out a new design, content or technical updates; then do it again afterward. There are essential roles played by the folks who run development, data and design on your team. Or, if you’re a one-person show, help yourself out by scanning a thorough checklist like this.

At ASTRALCOM, we believe in evolving your site experience to provide an optimal experience for your users every step of the way.  If you’re looking to run tests on your mobile functionality or generally boost your website’s customer experience outcomes, ASTRALCOM can help.