Why is Software Testing Crucial in the Travel Industry?  

Travel software testing – an important stage in the development process  

The term “quality assurance” covers all stages of product development from design through production and distribution; it seeks to ensure reliability, safety, usability, efficiency, economy, maintainability, or fitness for purpose. In today’s world full of evolving technologies, with new products being churned out every day — the role of quality assurance engineers becomes even more vital.  

Working with highly experienced professionals.

A good IT team consists of different specialists: designers, developers, quality assurance specialists, and project managers. They are carefully selected to match your and your projects’ requirements based on their skills and experience. This can ensure that all the delegated tasks will be fulfilled with excellent quality. 

Finding bugs in software is just the tip of the iceberg. Keep reading, this article will help you:  
– Understand the importance of software testing in the travel industry;  
– Learn about what qualities a quality assurance engineer should have to succeed in this field;  
– Discover some facts and statistics that show how important software testing is for the success of any business, especially within the travel industry; 

The importance of regular software testing  

Although the process of software testing may seem simple, it is a complex one. The most crucial part of this process is uncovering any bugs or errors that can lead to some serious malfunctioning in the application itself. It happens when there are missing elements from the final product and not because of the user’s mistakes (e.g., not filling out all required fields during checkout). This could cause frustration for users who want to use an app but get confused with its features on the first try. Software testers must know these things before the product is launched on the market or closed beta tests, so nobody will experience such inconveniences afterward.  
 
The most common question in this field is: „Why would I invest in hiring testers?”. It may seem that part of the budget could be spent on any other activity. Some companies perceive testing as an unnecessary action that does not provide any benefits regarding code quality. The truth is that software testers are the gatekeepers of product quality through quality assurance. They not only find bugs but help create a high-end user-experience product. Software testers enter the user role and walk through the customer journey path. This also affects the conversion rate of a final product. Applications are made for people – it is crucial to make apps that are user-friendly, have clear and concise content within them, as well as deliver specific values to users. These translate to the ROI directly. 

Walking in customer’s shoes – hiring testers pay back 

It is hard enough to draw the attention of online customers. But the real challenge is to evolve a relationship between customers and a brand so they become a group of loyal clients. To establish such a relationship, brands must create a pleasant customer journey tailored to the needs of personas (target groups representatives). Why is it so important? Because e-commerce is not just about selling products or services, it’s about creating an emotional connection between the brand and customers. Software testers can get into the customer’s shoes and identify any issues on the customer’s path to purchasing a product or service.  
According to Statista.com, in March 2020, the average percentage of abandoned carts was exactly 88.05%. The number of abandoned carts in the travel industry was 79.95%. With that in mind, providing customers with a smooth and hassle-free customer journey is crucial because the more obstacles are in the way of finalizing the transaction, the higher the possibility of abandoning the cart is at stake. It’s far better to invest in software testing from the beginning of the process of creating an app than to modify the software after a significant financial loss due to user experience issues.  
Hiring a QA tester pays back, as they can identify other conversion problems, such as page loading time. According to HubSpot, the first five seconds are vital to users. Each additional second of loading (during this time frame) results in a conversion drop of 4.42%. Furthermore, the bounce rate is 32%, with an average page load time going from 1 to 3 seconds. This means that if a page loads longer than 3-5 seconds, the customers will search elsewhere for a product or service. Identifying that issue before the website or app is ready is pure profit. There’s one more thing worth keeping in mind — software testers force a quality result during the development process. This means their work translates to higher ROI at the end of the day.  

Consequences of insufficient software testing

The irrecoverable damages that software failure can cause are evident from the startling reports across the world. In 2017, a report released by Tricentis revealed that global enterprises have testified a loss of $20 trillion in assets and affecting $25 million people across the globe. In 2018, poor software quality incurred a scaring loss of $27 billion collectively among US companies alone, with an average cost per company at least 25% higher than what it was before 2008 (when money had to be spent on e-commerce). The scary story of the enterprise struck by software glitches often flashed in news headlines worldwide. These stories became so frequent that there was no other profession left safe.  
 
The travel industry is not the exception, with more and more travelers relying on booking system or mobile applications to find their next adventure. However, a recent study reveals that 73% of consumers are still wary of trusting an e-commerce site due to security concerns.

E-commerce in the travel industry  

Building trust is the solid fundament of creating a group of satisfied customers. The travel industry is about making people happy – each trip should leave nothing but a pleasant experience and beautiful memories. Implementing digital solutions helps customers spend more time enjoying their well-deserved free time. That’s why the applications must simplify the stages of planning and managing every trip. Consequently, e-commerce has become an integral component for retailers and buyers as they navigate this constantly changing landscape. Major players should aim to be leading the charge to provide their customers with everything that they need on one platform while also offering services such as online checkouts, hotel selections, flight information, and more to make that process easier than ever before.  

Why choose Axabee?  

– We have experience in creating solutions for the biggest tour operator in Poland and one of the biggest players in this field in Central and West Europe;  
– Our products are used by millions of consumers (i.e., 289 832 installations for iOS, 801 000 installations for Android) – we know what works for our customers;  
– We know how important tests are. Thus, we implement them from the very beginning of creating our products;  
– Travel and e-commerce are our natural environments – we have the know-how and use it effectively.  

We want your experience with Axabee to be pleasant, so we ensure that our QA testers do everything they can to prepare the application for millions of users. It’s their job to ensure that all bugs and errors are fixed before release day, which is why it’s important not just in software but also in any other industry where quality assurance is crucial.