The launch of world-changing software begins with effective software testing.
For years, companies have experimented with various manual and automated processes to help pinpoint potential inefficiencies in their technology.
Now, many experts agree that using AI and chatbots in software testing will transform the way we analyze our technology for good.
Already, we’ve begun to see examples of AI and machine learning appearing in the software testing environment.
AI allows companies to automate various aspects of the testing process, from collecting and managing huge streams of data to predicting potential trends in app performance.
Today, we’re going to explore why AI and chatbots are becoming an increasingly important consideration in the development of modern software.
The Importance of Efficient Software Testing
Software testing is a critical process designed to ensure customers receive the right quality products and user experiences.
Over the years, the testing process has evolved to allow for the evaluation of multiple variables in a software solution at speed.
Gradually, we’ve begun to shift away from old-fashioned waterfall testing strategies that required numerous manual steps and processes, to more cutting-edge methods.
Though some companies still prefer to take a manual approach to software development, many have found it easier and more effective to create workflows empowered by AI bots and automated systems.
Such automated solutions improve a company’s chances of identifying a problem before it rolls out to customers.
In some cases, bots within the software development life cycle can also accelerate the time to market for new products and features. After all, AI can examine large amounts of data and surface potential issues much faster than human agents.
Automated systems that entail AI and bots, particularly chatbots, can even get to the bottom of where software issues might originate much faster than a human tester, by back-tracking responses and data interactions to the point of origin.
Chatbot Testing in Modern Software
The term “chatbot testing” can refer to a number of things, depending on the context.
Some use the phrase to define the evaluations required to examine the functionality of chatbots.
In the software development landscape, however, the phrase refers to the ways companies can leverage chatbots, AI, and machine learning tools to capture deeper insights into software issues.
The reality is that companies simply can’t produce software that’s 100% defect-free the first time around.
Alongside AI and automated tools, chatbots in software testing help strengthen the testing lifecycle.
Let’s see how.
Optimizing the Testing Process
Chatbots can be designed to interact with software in a similar way to a human user, making it easier for companies to test a range of scenarios quickly and efficiently, without having to seek out volunteers.
When machine learning and chatbot technology combine, chatbots can even learn from each interaction and come up with new and improved ways to test the system.
Chatbots combined with natural language generation make it easier for companies to collect valuable information about the software and how it might affect the user.
The right AI system can find potential problems with the user experience, then share these trends with business leaders and software developers in a language they understand.
Offering a Central Environment for Data
An open chatbot network can integrate with other analysis and data collection tools throughout the business, giving you a central environment for all kinds of valuable customer data.
Chatbots can collect information on everything from customer requests to sentiment. As such, they even offer opportunities for digital marketing. The more information you collect, the better the potential for growth.
Better Insights Into Workflow
Notably, chatbots are more than just tools you can use to interact with your customers.
These tools can also collect information from employees, providing insights into productivity, development, and engineering issues that might contribute to a software testing problem.
Integrating With Other Tools
Chatbots can integrate with CRMs and user profiling tools to help you predict how certain customers might respond to different software changes.
They enable you to learn more about the needs of individual audiences, and which investments you should take advantage of.
Chatbot Testing and Customer Feedback
One of the most valuable ways to use chatbots in software testing is as a direct line to your customers, and their satisfaction levels.
Building a chatbot for this purpose gives you an opportunity to collect all kinds of information from beta testers and users without having to reach out to each customer individually.
A chatbot algorithm can be designed to ensure that your system automatically asks for reviews and feedback whenever someone tests your software demo or experiments with the software. This will give you a quick and easy way to collect all kinds of valuable insights in a shorter amount of time.
Collecting information from real customers, employees, and other individuals will give you some more qualitative data to combine with the metrics and statistics you collect from your analytics tools.
This human feedback should help you to create better experiences for customers going forward.
Finally, to round things off, let’s go over some of the most common questions related to the role of chatbots in software testing.
What Is Chatbot Testing?
Chatbot testing can either refer to the process used to test the functionality of chatbot technology or the process of using chatbot algorithms to better understand how software works.
What Examples Are There of Chatbots in Software Testing?
Most examples of chatbots in software testing focus on using them to quickly collect information from beta testers and people experimenting with software demos.
Chatbots can ask quick questions to get helpful feedback from customers.
Which Is Better for Testing Software, Chatbots, or Humans?
As with most things in the digital world, chatbot testing often works best when combined with human testing.
Chatbots can manage and evaluate data with speed, but human beings can test other aspects of the software that chatbots can’t access.
What’s the Best Way to Test Software?
Most software developers are beginning to use more automation in their software testing strategies. However, every company has its own preferences.
Some companies still prefer to use a combination of automated and manual strategies.
Ashley Wilson is a content creator, writing about business and tech. She has been known to reference movies in casual conversation and enjoys baking homemade treats for her husband and their two felines, Lady and Gaga. You can get in touch with Ashley via Twitter.