How QA Teams Help Create Better Local Delivery & Courier Apps

Over the past five years, we have witnessed a remarkably active and advancing demand for delivery apps. But this need for convenience pushes delivery and courier software providers to significantly speed up their development and update processes.

Knowing the complexity of such projects, it is no news that their SDLC may become challenging. However, given the advantages app testing services offer for project enhancement, you can rely on QA to make the development more efficient. Let’s review how.

Challenges QA Can Help Solve

When working on an app offering delivery/courier solutions, you are likely to face some common and industry-particular challenges. It may not be so obvious, but implementing QA into the development process can help alleviate and solve most of them.

Increasing Customer Demand

Companies relying on delivery/courier software have three primary consumer-related needs: fast delivery, full visibility, and precise order configuration. Creating a system that supports these necessitates exhaustive tech expertise and niche knowledge. By engaging QA services in SDLC, you can be sure that intricate features function correctly, the communication between modules is accurate and timely, and the entire network works in sync.

The Need for Superior User Experience

Front-end is not only about appealing visuals. For instance, Shopify local delivery has a well-known simple and efficient design. But without a correctly working GUI, any function would be lost. Further, delivery and courier software solutions commonly have multifaceted interfaces: for admins, couriers/drivers, and consumers. So QA specialists need to test the app’s features, performance, and intuitiveness so that everybody is comfortable using it.

Data Security & Privacy

Financial information, addresses, planned routes – all can become weak points from a security perspective. As an illustration, Weee!, a US grocery delivery platform, suffered a data breach. Thus revealing the personal data of their 11 million users, including door codes that drivers would use for drop-offs. And DoorDash fell victim to hackers that obtained the credentials of third-party vendors. Thus, gaining access to some of the platform’s internal tools.

To avoid data leaks, burglary, and hijacking, it is important to secure possible deficiencies within separate features and the whole system as well. Carrying out composite security testing prevents unauthorized access and accidental disclosures, safeguarding all operations.

Accurate Real-Time Tracking & Updates

Imagine a situation where the app incorrectly tracks a driver’s location. A user sees that the driver, technically, is still far away and decides to go out for a bit. While the user is away, the driver arrives but is unable to deliver the product. This would cause delays for other orders and a potential complaint from the customer.

From local delivery to cross-country freight solutions, real-time updates on delivery status, location, and estimated time of arrival (ETA) are crucial for corrections, analytics, and emergency reactions. An online courier software capable of effortlessly combining live data exchange and authentic notifications requires a robust and reliable technology infrastructure. Testing such crucial features ensures that no bugs impede timely, safe, and convenient delivery.

Integration with Other Systems

Integration provides customizable solutions for your clients and effective data sharing for the company. As an analogy, Shipday joins its services with dozens of other firms, e.g., Grubhub, Bbot, Oracle, etc. With QA expertise in your team, you can establish reliable communication between other platforms, such as payment processing, inventory management, dispatch systems, cloud-based courier software, and more.

Compliance with Regulations

The skyrocketing demand for delivery services led to the construction of industry regulations. While there are no universal standards for such provisions, they are in development (e.g., the 2021 CA Fair Food Delivery Act). To avoid legal repercussions, your app needs to comply with existing transportation, data protection, and safety rules. Which can be achieved by testing supporting systems and the product.

Scalability

You may start out as a local delivery service. But with company evolution comes scalability. For example, Aramex began as a small courier business in the ‘80s. And later became an international company with teams in 70 countries – Aramex Global solution. Guaranteeing that your systems can handle increasing volumes of orders and delivery requests necessitates thorough testing of all network components.

Maintenance & Support

As your app progresses, you will need to protect its current effectiveness and find upgrade vectors. A dedicated team of QA engineers can work on your project continuously, providing constant support, feedback, and guidance. Smoke testing for securing core functionality and regression testing after every update will help preserve and enhance software operations.

Common Testing For Mobile Delivery/Courier Apps

No matter the specialty of your app, it will always need a standard set of testing to ensure that core requirements are met.

Functionality

These may seem like obvious or basic areas for testing. However, they comprise the nuclear operations of the app. Thus, ensuring that primary functions run correctly helps establish the MVP stage, structure the functional baseline, and improve UX post-release.

Things You Should Know About Functional Testing

Installation

Installation testing verifies that the app can be installed with all its functions, features, and data intact on all devices and OSs. During this testing, QA engineers validate the app’s ability to calculate the minimum needed memory, sort out file structure/upload default info, and receive updates wholly and correctly.

Similarly, users should be able to update their apps without losing any data or experiencing conflicts between the new app version and device specifications. Testing in-app update procedures and auto-updates makes sure that customers always use the latest version (with fewer bugs and fresh features).

Uninstallation of the app also should be simple and complete. A common issue is when upon deletion, only the latest version of the software is removed, and not the entire program. Thus, it is important to check for any leftover files, shortcuts, etc.

Registration

The registration process should be simple and straightforward. If the app requires more data than the standard ‘name – email – password’, QA engineers need to ensure that the software sends relevant confirmation letters, appropriately sorts addresses/financial data, etc. For complex registration procedures, it is also crucial to evaluate the backup function in case a user disconnects during the process.

Login/Logout

Similar to the above, login/logout should not be overly intricate. The app should process all login/sign-in operations, have active buttons, and accurately redirect users to support pages.w Assessing ‘forgot my password’ and ‘remember me’ functions, logging in with invalid info, requesting to alter the email, etc. – all are small details that need to be tested for effortless use.

Password Change

Testing whether the user is able to change their password also involves many elements. For instance, buttons’ clickability, correct redirection, corresponding fields for creating and confirming the new password, detection of password requirements, and more. If your software has a limit for password alteration requests, it is needed to check whether the app displays expository messages or sends explanatory emails. This way, you can avoid any confusion or criticism.

User Data Editing

Users may make a mistake during registration, want to change their name or address with time, adjust the delivery date, or edit other information. Thus, QA specialists need to test the availability and accurate functioning of such actions and the capability of relevant systems to update and save new data. Assessing confirmation notifications for customers and fast/accurate info import to other platforms or, say, 3PL will advance quality perception and collaboration.

Rate & Review

Reviews the users leave can be very important for your product’s growth. Feedback, complaints, suggestions, and wishes can become something to transform your app for the better. Hence, QA experts should test any review length restrictions, form filling, data synchronization/sharing, support/response features, etc. A properly set rating system will help your project advance and build trust with consumers.

Compatibility

Compatibility testing usually investigates how your app behaves in different digital environments.

Compatibility Testing: Why Is It Crucial for Your Software?

Displays

No matter what device your customers use, they should be able to receive a full and pleasant experience while on the app. Testing how the software behaves on different displays and making corrections can be tedious, given the variety of options. A dedicated and versatile QA team makes this process speedier, easier, and produces informative results.

Geolocation

This testing allows for authentic location tracking, suitable result search and delivery options based on regional regulations, service customization, security of financial operations, and many more. These are paramount for delivery drivers/couriers using the app, users placing an order and tracking the package, and various divisions within the company who focus on logistics. Geolocation testing also permits to evaluate how your app ‘cooperates’ with GPS-like systems.

Input Methods

While most users remain loyal to classical typing on mobile devices some may opt for alternative input methods. The reasons for this may vary – from conditional situations to personal or health reasons. So, QA specialists should verify that your app supports commonly applied options, e.g., gesture and voice typing, at least.

Interruptions

A local delivery service app can be interrupted by notifications, update alerts, rebooting, crashes, alarms, and many more. Testing how your product responds to these disruptions and whether it can effortlessly resume the execution is critical for smartphone users. Also, interrupt testing lets you examine the performance of the software while other applications (often 80+) run in the background.

Access Permissions

A Deliveroo user was not able to access the in-app photo function to provide evidence of an incorrectly delivered order. And the company could not process this issue, which resulted in customer loss and a negative review. That is why QA experts should test permission functions for particular files or other programs. For example, they need to make sure that your software delivers access requests and acts appropriately when it is accepted (e.g., limited to only allowed access) and denied (e.g., the app refuses to load without certain permissions).

Push Notifications

Informing users of updates, maintenance, delivery milestones, route alterations, new order placements, system changes, etc. – all these rely on the accurate functioning of push notifications. And to assert that this dependency is reliable, it is necessary to test notifications’ clickability, redirections, execution when the app is closed/phone is locked, display when the app/other program is running, etc. Thus, alert testing allows for effective communication with customers.

Power Consumption and Temperature

Your app’s impact on battery life can be something to distinguish you from the competitors. Low power consumption encourages users to explore and consistently utilize your software (and it is good for the planet). Testing how much energy your product ‘eats’, how it runs when other programs are on, and how it affects a device’s health overall will help establish the benchmark, improve inner workings, and ensure reliable usage.

Equally, testing how your software affects the CPU is critical not only for proper app functioning at higher temperatures but the device health as well. QA engineers may intentionally stress the processor and run your app to investigate its behavior. This helps improve performance and quality of inner operations.

Connectivity Methods

While most of your customers will use Wi-Fi when interacting with the app, for some, it may be more convenient to employ cellular data (3-5G). For instance, drivers and couriers often use mobile internet to connect to software while traveling. Also, certain businesses may rely on satellite networks for faster data transfer. And many individuals utilize VPNs to ensure privacy.

Your consumers may choose to link to the app in various ways. Testing how your software behaves for popular/specific connectivity methods lets your consumers use the app continuously and with no loading issues. As an illustration, it is viable to test VPN detection and notification mechanisms so that users are not offered incorrect order information when they, say, forgot to turn off VPN.

Performance

Performance testing evaluates how the software acts under particular workloads. Unfortunately, it is often executed as an afterthought. And having a functional system that cannot handle many simultaneous users greatly limits the program’s potential. That is why QA engineers should run performance testing before launch, employing expected and unpredictable traffic.

Load Testing

It examines an app’s functioning with an expected number of concurrent users. It helps satisfy performance requirements, locate bottlenecks, further enhance data transfer rates, bandwidth response time, memory consumption, etc. Also, it is a key step in creating a fast and reliable application.

Stress Testing

This type of testing assesses an app’s robustness and error handling under extreme user loads. During, say, seasonal order surges or a wave of newcomers after a marketing campaign, your app will be ‘stressed’ by heavy continuous activity. Crashes, freezes, or constant loading would deter potential clients from further using the app. And stress testing helps prevent and better react to such situations.

Spike Testing

And this one inspects an app’s behavior during sudden traffic fluctuations. Spike testing allows to establish the program’s limits and better prepare for and restore from such events (e.g., the app reaches its user maximum and displays an explanation/encouragement to stay message, offering to send a notification when it is available again). It also lets you devise a speedy and effective recovery method in case downtime actually happens.

Security

Whether you are working on a solution for B2B, B2C, or P2P services, personal info, current locations/destinations, order descriptions, etc., must be protected from malicious intent. Due to the involvement of layered sensitive data provided to delivery and courier apps, securing internal and external networks can be difficult. Add to that the multifaceted safeguarding for all agents and cybersecurity becomes a whole another project to take on.

Here, QA outsource can become especially beneficial. While security professionals take care of testing intricacies, you can focus on crucial business aspects. A QA company possesses needed experts, knowledgeable in various areas, that can create a first-class defense system. It can also provide new specialists as your needs change or your company grows. Security testing offers many advantages. But to leverage them fully, an experienced cybersecurity team is just what you need.

Ethical Hacking: Introduction to the Forces of Digital Peace

Accessibility

Be it a PM with low vision or an end-user with limited mobility, accessibility testing for mobile apps is essential for positive UX. Note that, desirably, your app’s accessibility should not stop at supporting assistive technologies (e.g., screen readers, magnifiers, text-to-speech programs, etc.).

There is a range of seemingly small things that can be done to enhance your software, and not only for disabled individuals. For example, color change/contrast options are of great help to persons with colorblindness and drivers working at night. There are hundreds of tweakments that should be considered and tested for proper functioning. In this way, you can improve user satisfaction, expand your reach, and promote inclusivity.

Specific Testing for Local Courier & Delivery Apps

There are quite a few special features that delivery and courier software, among others, has to accommodate. They are especially crucial due to their importance to core user operations. Hence, they need to be tested in-depth to make sure that these defining elements function appropriately.

Search & Filtering

Testing your app’s processing speed, search algorithms’ preciseness, suitability of displayed items under various levels of order details, etc., allows for effective search and filtering mechanisms that make your app stand out. These functions should be detailed yet simple, offering efficiency and prompt order placement. Good search and filtering mean fast, accurate, and reliable results provision.

Territory Management

Here, the QA process would involve testing how well your app can match drivers to desired areas, how effectively these functions analyze couriers’ region knowledge and workload, levels of order traffic, route accuracy and aptness, etc. Productive territory management allows you to cut fuel costs, reduce delivery time, boost drivers/couriers’ morale, and promote eco-friendliness. And it is especially useful for express courier solutions, where everything relies on speed.

Matching Algorithm

This function heavily relies on the analytical part of the software that evaluates couriers’ current position, closest pickup locations, drivers’ planned routes, and users’ desired ETA. These and other operations should work in tandem, offering quick and robust solutions for delivery. Testing inner matching algorithms ensures that the drivers and clients are satisfied with delivery convenience and time.

Route Planning

Only experienced QA experts should test hundreds of aspects that impact delivery time (even more so when applying complex features, like fuel consumption or gas price comparison). As they are crucial for user satisfaction, efficient collaboration with other platforms, and expense management. Powerful route planning means testing data exchange for drop-off/pick-up locations, delivery areas, traffic congestion, amount of orders, availability of items at designated facilities, weather, etc.

Tracking in Real-Time

Testing how your app synchronizes data from all GPS devices and smartphones, processes info, displays coordinates as the couriers move, etc., guarantees accurate location tracking. It will help with vehicle safety regulation compliance, e.g., FMCSA, driver recommendations, and location updates. It is also critical to check how live tracking works for couriers, customers, admins, and whether it presents relevant data for each segment.

Payment Gateways

Swift and robust payment processing relies on testing your app’s performance, integrations, API, security, among others. Which would include evaluating your app’s connection, communication, and speed when working with various payment gateways. Testing financial operations’ execution lets your consumers be confident in carrying out money-related actions and do so with ease.

Editing Order Details after Placement

For this, examining how your software sorts out edit requests will generate direct benefits for both customers and “the other side” – couriers, restaurants, last-mile delivery services, etc. Testing the scenarios of delivery adjustment, including GUI simplicity, verification procedures, notifications accuracy and punctuality, etc., will lead to a flexible and trusty app.

Integration with Phone Calls

Testing how the app redirects calls to intended recipients will be a great advantage for delivery efficiency and support. Your users, whether consumers, couriers, or 3rd party platforms, must easily communicate with needed agents. Which necessitates the analysis of system connections, call forwarding, prerecorded messages, etc. In turn, this will secure great customer support, faster change processing, and effortless accommodations.

In-App Chat

Regardless of the communication method, via real people or AI bots, testing how the entire system functions ensures better query/conflict resolution. Testing is especially important for AI-powered chats, as you need to train them, investigate response correctness, non-standard question reaction, and more.

Testing of Critical Subsystems in Courier & Delivery Apps

While there is a common focus on the clients’ side of the app, restaurants, warehouses, and drivers will use your software for distinct purposes. And the app should accommodate their needs by offering functional interfaces and operations tailored to their duties.

Restaurant/Store/Warehouse

When cooperating with various facilities, testing data exchange between them, your systems, and respective agents is important for effective territory management, matching processes, and route planning. First, your app should be able to handle large quantities of often constantly updating info. Second, it needs to have a reliable system that imports data from other platforms, exports order/driver details, and sorts relevant records to respective users.

With testing, you can achieve:

• High-quality data for all platforms.
• Early prevention and better resolution of data acquisition errors.
• Compliance with regulatory acts, e.g., EU’s GDPR.
• Efficiency of data mapping, and many more.

Further, warehouses and stores may be using IoT devices. Hence, the need for testing software integrations for a multitude of varying equipment. A QA team can offer professional insights on typical bottlenecks and inefficiencies for all of the above. Even before the testing commences, they can help you build an efficient testing strategy based on years of experience, industry expertise, and tech knowledge.

Driver Systems

Drivers and couriers are the essence of delivery apps. Hence, they need to be most comfortable working with your software. From UI adjustments for better experience and safety to specific useful features for the agent side, testing should be executed for a range of in-app functionality for optimal results.

Some features your app should include are:

• Fast personal data/documents upload and verification.
• Accurate order information provision, including timely updates.
• Secured and relevant customer details sharing.
• Reliable GPS tracking.
• Suitable and convenient route planning.
• Tipping systems.
• Convenient communication options, etc.

Properly testing courier management software is a big undertaking precisely because drivers’ productivity and satisfaction are so critical. But if you partner with the right QA provider, they can make this venture much easier and produce superior results for your product’s present and future.

Admin Panel / Management Portal

Admin panels are your digital library that aggregates information from all other modules, platforms, and apps. To secure such complex systems’ flexibility and sturdiness, testing is vital. As it allows you to be confident in each bit of data and every operation.

For an effective management portal, it is essential to test the proper functioning and data exchange for:

• Delivery/driver management.
• User information, including edits and updates.
• Order tracking.
• Accounting.
• Analytics.
• Reporting.
• Customer support and communication channels, etc.

Also, your admin panel can integrate with other databases and networks. In this case, testing how your side collaborates with external structures becomes the only way to ensure powerful partnerships.

How QA Deals with such Challenges in Practice

Now to the big question – what exactly a QA company does to effectively cover all delivery app testing specifics? Here is a quick rundown of how this works in practice.

QA Experts with Domain Knowledge

Knowing the ins and outs of the industry and local business peculiarities can be the difference between a top-solution product and ‘just another option’. For testing, domain expertise is especially important, as cooperating with QA engineers with specialized knowledge helps leverage the entire SDLC. Further, QA companies can quickly find desired talents, create guides for future hires, and establish a robust QA framework that everybody can use.

Domain Skills in Software Testing — Are They Essential?

Strategy & Documentation

Letting an experienced QA team establish an effective testing strategy means better development, STLC, and the end product. Also, apart from QA engineers creating comprehensive testing guidelines, they can also significantly upgrade further processes with thorough documentation. Properly recorded and deciphered testing results will be of great use to developers, PMs, and non-tech specialists. Which can be used to enhance productivity, efficiency, and decision-making.

Negative Tests

Numerous and diverse agents are involved in delivery/courier solution apps. Hence, occasional data mistakes may appear. To make sure that your software is stable and can handle non-standard user behavior, negative testing is a must. This testing, however, requires considerable creativity to come up with possible paths that lead to ‘failure’. Professional QA engineers, having rich experience, can swiftly cover such scenarios and ensure that your product adequately responds to errors and does not crash.

Pre-Release & Post-Release Testing

Regular pre-release testing allows the team to identify bugs as the product is being developed. And routine regression testing ensures that the app works as intended after any changes. Contrastingly, post-release testing allows locating overlooked/missed issues and fixing them before any serious consequences arise. It also aids in software upgrades and maintenance. So that your app always stays fresh and effective.

Test Automation

Usually, automated testing offers higher accuracy, ampler coverage, and speedier STLC. But, to utilize AT benefits to their maximum, you need a powerful automation framework. QA specialists know when automation is viable, what to begin with/when to automate more, and what processes should be automated for optimal outcomes. Overall, test automation enhances team productivity, promotes better quality, and optimizes testing expenses.

A Brief Guide to QA Automation for Taxi and Delivery Apps

To Sum Up

An important thing to remember is that you cannot predict and prevent all SDLC difficulties. Each software is unique. Your ideas and project mission define the values that form the basis of the product. And quality assurance should not be viewed as just locating bugs. It can help realize your vision by strengthening and enhancing your app. That is why you can trust QA to make your software development easier and the end results just as you intended and beyond.