Shopping with a Handheld Scanner Platforms that get a large number of testers involved in the process are one of the latest concepts in testing. “Sometimes our clients told us wanted to use their own employees in testing or they said they’d do all the testing themselves. So we zeroed in on how we could help clients in similar cases,” explains Application Development Manager Martin Paták. “Around the world, platforms have cropped up which testers can use to participate in projects. These are enormous ecosystems that start by acquiring and training people who are interested in testing and finish by arranging to pay for the work that was done,” he notes. “The crowdtesting platform principle appealed to us, so last year we started working on it.” Thanks to its many years of testing experience, Cleverlance has plenty of available verified testers, allowing the team to focus on developing the core of the platform. However, the platform is also open to absolute beginners who have no testing experience. “Anyone can register, even students. At the beginning they take a test and based on the results, they’re placed in a role that they can perform during testing. They also enter the devices, cell phone, and OS they use. That’s really important so we can put together a diverse team,” Paták adds. He explains that the platform is ideal for clients who want to test a rather simple task, but with a large number of variables. One sector where user experience testing has proven very successful is retail. Like at Globus, a German big-box chain operating 74 superstores in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Russia. During the pandemic, Globus noticed a major shift in its customers’ buying habits.
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Globus had already developed a scanning application called Scan&Go, which shoppers can download to their phones and use to scan in and pay for the items in their cart. During the pandemic, spending through Scan&Go surged by 80% and shopping the My Globus mobile app quadrupled. “We tested the app through our platform. Testers went to the superstores and evaluated their experience. As a result, we learned that customers are a bit trepidatious when they try to find out information before their first shop, or that they can run into problems redeeming a gift card,” Paták says. “But all the testers agreed that shopping with a scanner saves time and gives them a better overview of prices and the contents of their shopping cart.” Rapid detection of problem areas is one advantage that testing platforms provide; moreover, testing is very realistic – the testers acted as regular shoppers. “Using the new crowdtesting platform, the testers from Cleverlance Testing Platform helped us define our strengths and weaknesses,” Michaela Riganová, a UX designer at Globus, relates. “We were happy that most of the testers enjoyed the service and would use it again.” “Even I had fun shopping this way,” Martin Paták agrees. “Crowdtesting platforms are effective even for large global players operating on several different markets. So in practice, for example, they might need to test access through cell phones that are only sold on the Asian market; customers on the local market don’t have them and it’s essentially impossible to regularly arrange to use all devices to test.”
