Testing Checklist: How To Test A Mobile App [#infographic]
By Phillip Lew What’s one of the inevitable side effects of living in a world where technology makes practically everything accessible almost instantly? We’ve developed a low tolerance for errors. We’ve come to expect that the mobile apps we use to chat, shop, look up information, or otherwise entertain ourselves will always work whenever we need them. Compared to desktop computers, mobile operating systems have emphasized reliability. As a result, we have very little patience for mobile apps that don’t provide flawless functionality. Only 16 percent of smartphone users will try to use an app if it fails to work twice. For businesses that rely on a mobile app to engage with customers, this is sobering news. Customers aren’t willing to accept the idea that an app may be buggy or provide them with a less-than-optimal user experience. There are so many other options available in the mobile app landscape that they won’t hesitate to find an app that can deliver the functionality they want – even if it’s with an unfamiliar brand. For all these reasons, diligently testing a mobile app before it is released to the public is absolutely essential. There’s much more to testing a mobile app than tapping on the icon and making sure it starts – although that’s certainly one of the biggest concerns. Testing a mobile app has to be undertaken with the same level of care as testing a car. It needs to be put through its paces and pushed to its limits to ensure that it will be able to handle virtually anything done by a user. There can be no assumptions that a user won’t try to do something in the app – every possibility has to be explored and verified. The expectations for mobile apps have never been higher, and customers won’t be patient with an app that crashes when the phone is plugged in, or seems to become unresponsive when processing a command. Whether you try your hand at a DIY app-building service or sign up with a professional developer, you need to know what to look for when testing your app. Use this checklist to look for possible errors that could lead to an unsuccessful app launch. Testing Checklist: How To Test A Mobile App created by XBOSoft • • • Phillip Lew is Chief Executive Officer at XBOSoft, a software testing company. He oversees strategy, operations, and business development through his expertise as a software engineer since founding the company in 2006. Lew holds a PMP certification and a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from Beihang...
read moreFacebook’s dramatic organic reach reversal and what it means to you
It’s fascinating (and fun) to watch the ups and downs of some high-profile tech stocks. Sometimes they go from bad buy to impressive price faster than daytime soap opera characters morph from evil twin to great guy. If you consider how Facebook stock took a tumble after its 2012 IPO – losing half of its value as it bottomed out at less than $20 per share – and then look at its price today of more than $130, you would suffer a case of financial market mental whiplash. But, when it comes to Facebook, that’s not the only metric we watch; for small business owners (or any business owner, for that matter), the organic reach of posts has always been an important figure. And, just as some people dismissed the company’s stock when it tanked, some of us dismissed organic reach when it went down. Facebook organic reach The story over the last couple of years has been that Facebook was suppressing organic reach to boost its sale of advertising. However, news of the death of organic post reach on Facebook might be a little premature. According to an in-depth Ignite Social Media study that analyzed post reach and engagement over a nearly two-year period, median fan reach for organic posts improved significantly between January 2016 and December 2016. In January, it was just over a half of one percent and by the end of the year it was just under 2.5 percent. Further, average fan reach for all types of posts – links, video content, and photos – increased significantly between 2015 and 2016. By the way, according to the Ignite report, video posts rank the highest, followed by links and then photos. This marks a distinct reversal of the widely reported Facebook trend. When Ignite looked at brand page reach earlier, they reported that between 2013 and 2014, organic reach had decreased by an average of 44 percent. Ryan Sweeney, who authored Ignite’s excellent post on the recent study, put it this way: “…it seems that Facebook organic reach is no longer dead, but is showing some signs of life.” New enthusiasm for Facebook? I think this is a smart move on Facebook’s part. If the social media giant wants to get more small businesses on its platform, “Step A” has to be to lure owners. Organic reach is like chumming the water; it will get SMB owners to bite and once they are “on the line” Facebook can then “upsell” them into buying ads, including Facebook dark posts (posts that are not distributed organically). All of the articles and blogs that bemoaned the dramatic drop in organic reach couldn’t have made the folks at Facebook feel very good, and that negative publicity certainly wasn’t doing anything to recruit new business members. However, if what Ignite has discovered holds up and this “good news” gets spread as far and wide as last year’s “bad news,” it should rekindle enthusiasm for the establishment, care, and feeding of Facebook business pages. Exploit this change Did you lose your drive to push Facebook in your social media marketing campaigns when you heard about the drop in organic reach? If so, take this organic reach renaissance and run with it. While I suspect Facebook will keep its reigns loosened in this area,...
read moreThis week in small business: Entrepreneurship (articles) on the rise!
I’ve really noticed an uptick in the publication and popularity of entrepreneurship articles recently. I hope that it signals a new surge in startups and business formation. That, more than anything coming out of Washington D.C., would serve as a national “pick-me-up” both economically and emotionally. Entrepreneurship, startups, and innovation Writing for the Salesforce blog, Cassidy Tucker explains why trust is critical for startup success. You’ll probably be surprised by the book “Rich Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki says every entrepreneur should read in this article by Barbara Kollmeyer and Jessica Marmor Shaw. Get the lowdown on bootstrapping in Jonathan Chan’s piece on how 11 entrepreneurs bootstrapped their way to success. Learn from the mistakes Natalie Davis’ team made: How to Retain Your Top Marketing Talent: 6 Lessons We Learned the Hard Way. Nigerian Chidike Samuelson chronicles his journey from employee to entrepreneur in this article. The fundamentals are covered in Marco Zhou’s Financial Buzz piece, “What you should do to succeed as an Entrepreneur.” Stephanie Melish hit a homerun with her Entrepreneur article, “4 Marketing Lessons Entrepreneurs Can Learn From April the Giraffe.” “You can often change your circumstances by changing your attitude.” – Eleanor Roosevelt Leadership, management, and productivity Check out Laura Emily Dunn’s “Women in Business Q&A: Paula Downey, President and Chief Executive Officer, CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer.” This Aileron post on Forbes suggests the best accountability strategies for a small business. “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” – Hellen Keller Marketing and sales Malia Keirsey’s “9 Effective SEO Techniques That Will Explode Your Traffic” article is an excellent introduction to the most important SEO principles you need to understand. To reinforce this, also take a look at Brian Rashid’s “What Every Business Owner Must Know About SEO.” Jordan Kasteler does a good job covering the symbiotic relationship between social media and content marketing in this MarketingLand article. Believe it or not, Hurdlr has condensed more than 16,000 books on sales into nine tips. Move over H.G. Wells! Will Burns says that the time machine is marketing’s latest invention! Haters gonna hate, so you need to know how to protect yourself from the most common negative SEO attacks. James Newhouse explains. Politics, government, and the economy Uh-oh! If Jeremy Hill is right, the U.S. economy is weaker than we think. (Hear that, Janet Yellin?) Melanie Arter covers President Trump signing bills to support women entrepreneurs and women in STEM fields. If “globalization” is taking a U-turn, productivity could be the big loser, says Jeanna...
read more4 Reasons Why This Will be the Year of the Woman Entrepreneur
I’ve been an entrepreneur for most of my life. In part, that could be because I’m the only child of a mother who started her first business in the late 1940s. Imagine what it must have been like for her. After the war, very few women even worked outside the home. Times have changed. During Women’s History Month, it’s good to reflect on pioneering women like my mother who broke through barriers to create more opportunities for the next generation. Women have definitely made significant strides in terms of business ownership. According to the most recent Census Bureau, 36 percent of all businesses are owned by women. For at least the past decade, we’ve been told that women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men. The problem: Very few ever gross more than a million dollars in revenue. The first time I grew a business to a million-dollar-plus entity, I became intrigued by this statistic. At the time, (2006) fewer than three percent of women business owners were members of that elite club. So I wrote “The Girls’ Guide to Building a Million Dollar Business” to help other women build successful enterprises. After all this time, you’d think things would be getting better. Sadly, I recently discovered an article on Forbes.com which noted that now fewer than two percent of women-owned firms become million dollar businesses. So where does that leave us? In my opinion, this could be the year where the tides change, and women business owners come into there own. Here’s my take. 1. The Crowdfunding Phenomenon. Obtaining the necessary capital to start or expand a business is challenging, but it has been a particular obstacle for women-owned business. Now, after the passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) which, among other things, was intended to make it legal for non-accredited investors to own shares (equity) in companies raising funds through crowdfunding platforms, the Securities and Exchange Commission finally approved the regulatory structure. This should open up a vast, new source of capital for small business growth. Equity capital is often used by fast-growth companies, but women-owned firms only receive a very small percentage. This changes the game for women who want to grow and expand their enterprises — taking them to the next level of success. 2. The Good ‘Ole Girls Network is Alive and Well. Virtually non-existent 20 years ago, there are many more targeted programs to help women succeed. For example, I participated in a venture capital boot camp through Springboard Enterprises, which trains women how to pitch to venture capitalists. Additionally, there are organizations such as the National Women’s Business Owner Council (NWBOC) and the Women Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) that provide third-party certification and training to women-owned businesses to help them obtain corporate contracts. Through organizations such as these, women are learning to partner to compete for larger contracts providing them with greater growth opportunities. 3. Technology enhances growth opportunities. In the late ’80s I had a small advertising agency. I was so excited when I got a fax machine for the office. A virtual work environment – what’s that? Now, technology gives women the opportunity to start businesses from their guest room and do business around the globe. But even more significant is the plethora of...
read moreWomen in Business: 8 Tips to Help You Exude Confidence at Work
Sheryl Sandberg introduced the concept of “leaning in” as an aspect of body language that aids people with their career development. Sandberg makes the argument that women in corporate and professional environments fail to get ahead due in part to body language that reflects poor self-confidence. The following tips will boost your confidence at work and help you garner respect. Stand tall Stand straight with your shoulders back and head up. This stance gives off an air of confidence that just isn’t there when you slouch. Make use of height and space; it’s a nonverbal way of demonstrating you are prepared to negotiate or discuss business. Make eye contact People expect eye contact and tend to distrust those who look away or cannot meet their eyes. Always make eye contact when saying hello and goodbye to someone. Need a cue to determine if you’re doing it for an appropriate length of time? Look long enough to know the person’s eye color. Perfect your handshake A good handshake is vital. Clammy hands and a light grip give the impression you are “soft” and won’t remain firm in your decisions; a crushing handshake indicates you may be willing to bully your way to gain approval. Practice your handshake with a friend or family member to find the right balance of firm and pleasant. Smile People might underestimate the importance of a smile, but smiling makes a positive impression on just about everyone. It shows your colleagues or other professionals that you are approachable, and in the face of an obstacle, it demonstrates you can tackle the problem in an uplifting but realistic manner. Invest in a business suit Purchase a well-tailored business suit that flatters your body type. You want to look polished and feel comfortable. Don’t be afraid to splurge on this staple, it will help in every facet of your professional life. Looking the part will help you gain an edge when negotiating or giving a presentation. The last distraction you need is fidgeting with your outfit or fumbling with a button that fits too snug. Any amount of distraction might diminish your ability to effectively present your argument or stance. Accessorize Accessories can really bring your at-work look together and bolster your confidence, but make certain you choose pieces that are appropriate for the workplace. Wear unscuffed shoes with a flattering heel to help you stand tall and exude confidence. Carry a classic, well-made handbag and keep jewelry understated and simple—a small pair of earrings, a watch and a bracelet should work well. Use perfume sparingly Smelling good is important, of course, but don’t overpower the room with a strong scent. A subtle and light body spray will do. Keep hair & makeup professional Don’t show up at work with wet or unkempt hair or heavily painted-on makeup. Pick colors that are suitable for a workplace environment. Attire and body language feed into one another, and by presenting your best self, you’re in the best position to be viewed as a professional, competent woman who means...
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