User interface is the most important component of software usability. So, it demands proper attention during all the phases of each mobile testing, desktop testing or web site testing.
At the early stages of the development life cycle user-interface prototype can be utilized. It is a convenient tool allowing to perform many researches and tests of the developed application interface.
Utilization of a User Interface Prototype Is Useful Because:
- the development team and the software testing company can investigate and optimize the software interface prior to its creation;
- developers, testers and users are able to cooperate improving the software interface at the early phases of the development process, before it is elaborated.
These operations can be done without user interface prototype as well. But in that situation there will be no possibility to see how the interface looks like before it is constructed.
During late stages of software development it is wise to engage representatives of end-users and domain-matter professionals in the elaboration of usability test-cases.
Since at that period of the development cycle it is hardly possible to implement fundamental changes, the end-users and domain-matter professionals should notify what they don’t like or want to change concerning insignificant issues. Serious changes may be implemented only in the next application version.
So, approaches to development and testing of software user interface differ at various stages of software life cycle. This factor should be taken into account during web site testing,desktop testing or mobile application testing.