Since software testing often happens during the later stages of development, some companies deem it unimportant. Similarly, leaders may also think it’s OK if customers find bugs in a software-based product after its release.

However, it’s ideal if businesses treat software testing as something that can drive overall value and increase customer satisfaction. Here are some of the many reasons why it’s so critical for success.

Testing Reduces Cyberattacks

Company representatives who conduct software testing make it less likely for cyberattackers to find vulnerabilities to exploit. Such incidents could hurt a company’s profits and reputation.

For example, if the software in question is for internal use, attacks facilitated by bugs could harm a company’s productivity and necessitate the temporary shutdowns of certain operations. Businesses that release a product for commercial use that gets hacked could affect customers’ confidence in the company and its offerings.

In 2020, researchers uncovered several vulnerabilities associated with a cybersecurity software provider. The problems gave hackers indirect access to devices the company marketed to customers to improve their cybersecurity preparedness. That’s a disaster in the making for any business, but especially one specializing in cybersecurity.

It’s also notable that a recent survey found one in three organizations is experiencing more cyberattacks in 2021 than during previous years. Cybercriminals don’t only break into networks via software flaws, of course. However, such unaddressed issues can make it easier for them to orchestrate successful and maximally damaging attacks.

Software testing should factor into a company’s overall cybersecurity strategy. Finding issues earlier reduces the chances of malicious parties coming across them and using them for destructive purposes.

Testing Gives Useful Insights Into Customer Behavior

Many businesses incorporate usability testing into their software examination strategies. It tasks real users with trying out the product and giving detailed feedback about their experiences. Company representatives can also get real-time data about aspects that need further improvement or are not as useful as they hoped.

Manufacturers can get in-the-moment data to create heat maps and determine which areas of a factory receive the most traffic. That helps them avoid bottlenecks and optimize building layouts.

Real-time information from software testing can serve a similar purpose. For example, it could show companies how much time users spend interacting with a particular feature. Alternatively, it might reveal whether people become confused or frustrated while using the software.

Knowing those things before a software title’s wide release increases the chances of bringing the product onto the market with most of the issues worked out. It helps ensure the product is as appealing as possible to the target audience.

Testing also gives valuable feedback after a company redesigns its software or adds numerous new features. It’s a potentially costly mistake to assume such changes will delight most users. Software testing verifies if that’s the case, allowing businesses to make necessary improvements to keep customers happy.

Testing Improves Reliability

Many industries use software to manage time-sensitive tasks and keep massive projects within budget and finished on time. Research shows that large construction projects take 20% longer to complete than planned. Software can improve such metrics by giving users better visibility and helping teams communicate quickly and easily.

Regardless of which industry uses software, careful testing of such products before reaching customers can help a company’s profits. It also increases the chances that users become loyal to products released later.

Putting reliable products on the market is critical because customers want to see quick returns on investment. In an industry like health care, software bugs, clunky interfaces or repetitive error messages could sacrifice patient care quality by slowing or halting provider workflows.

It’s also worth noting that individuals start forming opinions about products before realizing it. Additionally, people who use software for business will likely get requests from their employers to provide thoughts on their experiences. Suppose a company invests in new software for a team of 500 people and hears from three-quarters of the group that the product interferes with productivity or causes other issues. In that case, the customer won’t likely purchase it again.

Business leaders should strive to view robust software testing as an essential part of overall quality control. If users generally agree a product works as it should most of the time and brings them genuine benefits, they’ll be more likely to buy new software from the company once it becomes available. They’ll also have favorable opinions about the brand.

Testing Helps a Software Company’s Employees Make the Most of Their Time

A software publisher may not have internal employees carry out software tests. Many companies specializing in third-party testing services have automated tools and other resources that contribute to high-quality outcomes.

Whether testing happens within a company or gets handled elsewhere, it can help a software company’s workforce better meet customers’ needs. For example, test results may reveal that software shows unusual behavior on a particular operating system or within a certain browser. Testing helps ensure the software has the required adaptability to succeed in today’s marketplace.

If tests reveal platform-based issues, the company’s development professionals have a clearer idea of where and how to pinpoint and resolve them as quickly as possible. Without the details these tests provide, software developers cannot be reasonably sure the product will perform as expected on the assortment of devices and setups customers may use.

Software testing also gives a company’s customer service team useful details, even before fixes are implemented for identified issues. For example, if tests reveal a bug on Windows 11, a call centre team could use that information to address users’ complaints.

Testing Reflects a Company’s Care

Besides the testing advantages covered in depth here, the people responsible for checking software should remember that the process is a way for companies to show that the customer experience matters to them.

After uncovering software defects during normal usage, a person may understandably conclude that a company rushed the product onto the market for the sake of bettering its bottom line.

Deploying a thorough testing strategy won’t necessarily reveal all issues. Still, it is an excellent way to show customers the business has taken all the right steps to reduce any problems they experience. When users have that impression, they’ll be more likely to continue doing business with a software brand and recommend that people they know follow suit.

Article written by Emily Newton, editor-in-chief at Revolutionized