3 Benefits of Collecting User Feedback Early
The atmosphere surrounding the fast pace of software development is quite different today than it was under waterfall environments. Traditionally, monolithic program builds weren't seen by users until they were released, and this significantly affected the success rate and defect likelihood in projects. With agile software development, users are involved from the very beginning and are normally provided a minimum viable product to critique. Using a QA tool, organizations can gather and organize user responses while planning their next move. Here are the top three benefits teams can expect from collecting feedback early:
1. Lowers Risk
Legacy development methods introduced a lot of risk into projects. Considerable time, money, and effort were put into each feature, and if the end result failed, the entire process was labeled a waste. Agile's feedback loops have significantly lowered risk by ensuring that teams keep user requirements at the forefront throughout the project's lifecycle. BA Times contributor Caprice White noted that showing end users the working software as it's developed will effectively reduce risk and help boost the success of the released program. Any issues that come up can also be more easily navigated to get back on track.
"This reduces the risk and allows for feedback early and often so that we can be sure that what we produce is in alignment with what our clients require," White wrote. "If technology changes along the way, we change with it. If management changes along the way, we work with new management to ensure that we are still aligned during development."
2. Boosts Quality
Nothing is more frustrating to an end user than trying to utilize something that simply doesn't have the features or level of support that is required. If software is shipped out with broken parts, that has a considerable effect on the success of that project. However, with customer feedback being used early on in the process, teams can work to ensure that they are building everything and testing to verify that all parts integrate well. Microsoft's Brian Harry noted on the MSDN blog that even after testing has been completed, teams still need to evaluate working software on a consistent basis. They should utilize agile testing methodologies to identify that the software is doing what it needs to, ensure that the solution is actually going to work, and build the right thing for the user.
3. Enables Lasting Improvements
Most agile teams have likely heard the mantra of "release early, release often." This comes from the idea that continual production will spur feedback loops that give teams direction on how to improve what they've already built as well as provide them direction on where to go from here. Excella contributor Joanna Snead noted that teams can fail fast, but they must be able to recover faster and utilize data to make critical decisions. Testing metrics along with user feedback can provide critical insights that showcase relationships between features and user behaviors.
Although feedback and metrics on their own are beneficial, together they serve as an unstoppable force for lasting improvements. Teams not only can proactively take steps to improve the experience, but they can also leverage user reactions to keep the project in light with overall objectives. This helps build a better relationship and increases reliability for development and quality assurance teams.
Times have certainly changed from when waterfall was the process of choice. Agile's focus on constant user feedback can bring these three major advantages, as well as many others. However, it's up to your team to determine the best way to leverage the feedback and translate them to improving software projects.
