Live Testing | What it is and How to Conduct?

When it comes to creating software, testing is key! “Live testing is the truth serum of software quality.” 

Live testing is an essential part of software testing. This type of testing is done manually and automatically. It helps to ensure that software works as expected in a real-world environment with real users and data. It can be used to test a wide range of aspects of software, including functionality, performance, usability, and security.

To put it simply:” Live testing is the final frontier of software testing.”

Let us get into the blog and explore more about Live testing.

What is Live Testing?

Live testing refers to evaluating and testing a software application, system, or website in a real-world, production-like environment. It is typically done with real users, like you and me, or under conditions closely mimicking actual usage. 

It is often used to identify and address issues that might not be apparent during pre-production testing, such as usability problems, performance issues, and other unexpected issues that can arise in a live, operational environment.

Why is Live Testing Important?

Live testing is essential for ensuring the reliability, usability, and performance of software and systems in real-world scenarios. It is a critical step in the software development process, as it allows developers to identify and address issues that may not be apparent during pre-production testing.

Here are some of the key benefits of live testing:

• Real-world validation: It validates software and systems in the actual production environment or conditions that closely resemble it. This ensures that the software performs as intended when used by real users.

• Usability and user experience testing: It allows developers to uncover usability and user experience issues that may not be apparent during pre-production testing. Real users can provide valuable feedback on how the software works from their perspective, helping to improve its user-friendliness.

• Performance testing: It often includes load and performance testing to evaluate how the software performs under various user activity levels. This helps identify and address performance bottlenecks and scalability issues.

• Data accuracy and integrity testing: It ensures that data is processed, stored, and retrieved correctly and accurately. Data validation is a crucial aspect of live testing, especially for applications that handle sensitive or critical data.

• Error handling and resilience testing: It allows developers to identify and test error-handling mechanisms and the system’s resilience in the face of unexpected events or errors. This is important for maintaining system availability and user trust.

• Continuous improvement: It provides a valuable feedback loop for developers and product teams. Feedback from real users helps prioritize bug fixes, feature enhancements, and other improvements, leading to a more robust and user-friendly product.
• Compliance and security testing: It can help verify that the software complies with security and regulatory requirements. It allows for detecting security vulnerabilities and ensures that sensitive data is protected.

• User acceptance testing: User acceptance testing (UAT) is often part of live testing, where end-users verify that the software meets their needs and expectations. This step is crucial for gaining user buy-in and ensuring the software aligns with business goals.

• Real-world stress testing: It may reveal issues only under real-world stress conditions, such as high user loads or unexpected user behavior.

• Market success: It can determine the success of a product or system in the market. Identifying and addressing issues in a live environment can differentiate between a successful product and a failure to gain user adoption.

When should Live Testing Be Used?

Live testing should be used throughout the software development and deployment process to ensure 

1. the reliability, 
2. performance, and 
3. user-friendliness of a software application.

Here are some key stages and scenarios where it is typically employed:

• Pre-launch testing: Before releasing a software application to the general public, this testing can be used to verify its functionality and performance in a real-world environment. This may include user acceptance testing (UAT), performance testing, data validation, and security testing.

• Beta testing: Software developers often conduct beta testing by inviting a select group of external users to test the application before its official launch. Beta testers provide feedback and report issues, helping the development team make necessary improvements.

• Rollout to a limited audience: When a new software version or feature is rolled out, it is expected to introduce it to a limited group of users or a specific target audience before a full-scale release. Live testing in this scenario helps ensure a smooth rollout and gather early user feedback.

• Ongoing maintenance: Even after a successful launch, live testing remains essential for continuing maintenance. This includes regularly monitoring the system, addressing bugs, implementing updates, and optimizing performance to maintain the application’s quality and user satisfaction.

• System updates and patches: When updates, patches, or new software versions are released, live testing can help ensure that these changes do not introduce new issues or disrupt the existing user experience.

• Scaling and load testing: If an application is expected to experience increased user loads over time, live testing can be used to assess its performance under these conditions and to optimize its scalability.

• Compliance testing: In industries with specific regulatory requirements, live testing helps ensure that the software complies with relevant standards and regulations, such as those in healthcare, finance, or government.

• A/B testing: Live testing is often used for A/B testing, where different versions or variations of a feature or design are presented to different user groups to determine which performs better regarding user engagement, conversion rates, or other metrics.

• Troubleshooting and issue resolution: When users report issues or errors in a live environment, live testing is crucial for diagnosing and resolving these problems promptly.

How to Conduct Live Testing?

I came across a quote from Mary Jones on conducting live testing. She says,

“Live testing is a balancing act. You need to get the right amount of coverage without putting your users at risk. It’s a delicate dance.”

To conduct live testing, you can follow these steps:

1. Plan your test. Define the scope of your testing, the specific features or scenarios you want to test, and the metrics you want to measure.
2. Identify your test environment. This should be a production-like environment that accurately reflects the real-world conditions in which your software will be used.
3. Recruit testers. Your testers should be representative of your target users.
4. Develop your test cases. Your test cases should be clear, concise, and easy to follow.
5. Execute your test cases. Monitor the performance of your software and collect data on the metrics you have defined.
6. Analyze the results. Identify any issues or areas for improvement.
7. Report the results. Share your findings with the development team so that they can make necessary changes.

About Tools to be used:

You can also conduct live testing using tools like LambdaTest and BrowserStack and automate certain aspects of the process using Testsigma. 

In this method, while LambdaTest and BrowserStack provide the live testing infrastructure, Testsigma can complement the process by automating specific data collection tasks in the background. 

Learn more about automated testing

This combination allows you to efficiently gather insights and improve your product’s quality and user experience. 

The following can be taken as a general guideline for conducting the live testing process.

1. Sign Up and Set Up Accounts:

• Sign up for accounts on LambdaTest or BrowserStack.
• Configure your testing environments, such as browsers and devices, within the tool.

2. Test Scenario Preparation:

• Define the test scenarios and test cases that you want to evaluate with real users.
• Ensure that your application or website is accessible via the chosen testing tool.

3. Participant Recruitment:

• Depending on the tool, you may have access to a pool of real users. If you still need to, you can recruit your participants.
• Ensure that participants meet the criteria of your target audience and understand the testing objectives.

4. Test Execution:

• In LambdaTest or BrowserStack, create test sessions or share testing URLs with participants.
• Participants will interact with your application or website, following the predefined test scenarios.

5. Real-time Monitoring:

• Live testing tools monitor participants’ actions and behavior in real-time.
• Please make note of any issues or usability problems they encounter.

6. Automated Data Collection (with Testsigma):

• While conducting live testing, you can use Testsigma (an automation testing tool) to automate the collection of specific data, such as performance metrics or user actions.

Learn more about automating your tests with Testsigma

• Testsigma can be configured to run in the background and record specific data points as participants use your application.

7. Feedback Collection:

• After each live testing session, conduct interviews or surveys to gather qualitative feedback from participants.
• Use questionnaires or structured interviews to collect specific feedback on usability, performance, and user experience.

8. Analysis and Reporting:

• Analyze the collected data, including user feedback and any automated data collected by Testsigma.
• Identify usability issues, bugs, or areas for improvement.
• Create a detailed report summarizing findings, with priority ratings for problems.

9. Iterative Improvement:

• Based on the findings, make necessary adjustments to the application or website.
• Address identified issues, enhance usability, and optimize user experience.

10. Repeat Testing:

• Conduct multiple rounds of live testing with different participants.
• Continuously refine and retest the product to ensure improvements are adequate.

How is Live Testing Different from Other Testing Methods?

Major differences between live testing and other testing methods:

• Real users: It involves real users interacting with the product in their natural contexts. This provides valuable insights into usability, user experience, and performance that automated tests cannot capture.

• Real environments: It is conducted in real environments like the user’s home or office. This allows testers to identify potential problems that may not be apparent in a controlled testing environment.

• Real-world scenarios: It is conducted in real-world scenarios, such as those the user would typically encounter. This allows testers to identify how the product performs under realistic conditions.

Overall, live testing is a valuable method that can help ensure a product’s quality and user satisfaction.

Who Benefits from Live Testing?

Let us now look into who benefits from this testing:

• Developers: It can help developers identify and fix bugs before they cause significant problems. This can save time and money in the long run.

• QA engineers: It can help QA engineers comprehensively understand the user experience and identify usability problems. This can improve the quality of the software.

• Product managers: It can help product managers get feedback from real users and ensure that the product meets their needs. This can help to improve the success of the product.

• Business stakeholders: It can help stakeholders get assurance that the software is ready for release and will meet their business goals. This can help to reduce the risk of project failure.

• End users: It can ensure that the software is user-friendly and meets the needs of end users. This can lead to increased satisfaction and loyalty.

Overall, live testing is valuable because it can benefit many stakeholders in the software development lifecycle. By conducting live testing, you can improve the quality, reliability, and usability of your software and ensure that it meets the needs of your users.

What are the Various Benefits of Live Testing?

There are many benefits to live testing, including:

• Early detection of issues: It can help identify issues early in development before they become costly and time-consuming.
• Improved user experience: It can help to improve the user experience by identifying and fixing usability issues.
• Increased customer satisfaction: It can help increase customer satisfaction by ensuring that the website or application meets users’ needs.
• Reduced costs: It can help reduce costs by identifying and fixing issues early in development and preventing costly rewrites and delays.

Live testing can be used to test a variety of aspects of a website or web application, including:

• Functionality: It can verify that the website or application functions as expected.
• Usability: It can assess the website or application’s usability and identify improvement areas.
• Performance: It can be used to assess the performance of the website or application under load.
• Accessibility: It can be used to verify that the website or application is accessible to users with disabilities.

Conclusion

Ensuring that software is of the highest quality is essential in today’s world, where technology plays such a vital role. Live testing is one such process that helps ensure software quality. It is a great thing when bugs are fixed as soon as possible.

Knowing that some people care about ensuring everything works correctly is a relief! 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the risks of live testing?

Live testing risks exposing users to potentially unstable or buggy software, leading to a poor user experience and potential data loss or security breaches. It can also damage a company’s reputation if issues occur in a public-facing environment.

What is live testing in software testing?

It deploys software to users to get feedback on its performance in the real world.