AQuA Opinions
AQuA News -June 2017
After an outwardly quiet few months, AQuA was back in exhibition mode at the London Apps World Evolution show last week.
Our Executive Director, Martin Wrigley, was chairing keynote sessions, developer streams and speaking at the event. The AQuA stand was busy throughout with Greg and Ruth and Martin talking to visitors who wanted to know more about AQuA’s testing criteria and best practice guidelines, and our new Security Testing Criteria in particular.
Accessibility, it shouldn't come last
23 November 2016
By Greg Jotham, Chief Quality Auditor at AQuA
If accessibility isn’t considered at the design stage of app development it will get left behind, and become difficult to implement later – so why isn’t it getting the consideration it deserves?
The Best Quality App Award, no spin, just good testing and proven quality
27 July 2016
By Martin Wrigely, Executive Director of AQuA
At an industry conference AQuA attended last year where lots of awards were being given out, an attendee expressed the opinion that most awards failed to represent real achievement and frequently tended to be given to event sponsors. It could have simply been a case of “sour grapes”, but after that conversation we felt we had to create a new and different awards scheme.
We're seeking best in class for mobile app quality
5 July 2016
We're celebrating mobile app quality by rewarding developers and organisations for best in class. Entries to be submitted by September 15, 2016.
Here at AQuA, we've launched a contest that recognizes developers and organizations for their outstanding contributions to mobile app quality with two awards:
Award 1 - The Best Quality App
Award 2 - The Best Contribution to Mobile App Quality
How do you decide which platforms to publish on? Take this quick survey..
9 July 2016
It’s no secret that app marketplaces are intensely competitive and that each distribution platform has distinct obstacles as well as advantages.
To better understand the ecosystem and improve the industry, our friends at the Application Developers Alliance are conducting a one-of-a-kind survey on global platform competitiveness.
The survey intends to collect insights from app publishers and developers from all around the world. It takes around 5 to 8 minutes to complete and all responses are anonymous.
As a thank you, all respondents will be entered into a raffle for a $200 gift card, where five winners will be drawn. In addition, all respondents will get a free copy of the report upon release.
Complete the survey to help build a better industry.
Top Ten Enterprise App Errors
30 March 2016
By Martin Wrigley, Executive Director - AQuA
Developing Apps for an Enterprise to use internally carries unique pressures, and the need for great quality is never more pressing. AQuA’s Martin Wrigley describes some of the help available to avoid common quality pitfalls.
Testing Tools discussed
December 8 2015
By Greg Jotham, Chief Quality Auditor at AQuA
There’s a tendency to think of testing tools as physical things – hardware or software, essentially. But sometimes information that allows you to plan your testing strategy efficiently is just as valuable. That’s very much the case for the item I’m highlighting here – the Mobile Test Coverage Index issued by Perfecto Mobile.
Are you prepared for the wrong disaster?
November 19 2015
By Greg Jotham, Chief Quality Auditor at AQuA
Engineers are very good at dealing with things they can measure. Things that aren’t easy to measure can be harder to develop good processes for.
In this there lies a potential trap: you can be devoting all your efforts to preventing measurable problems, not the non-measurable, human factors issues that can have as great an adverse effect. If you’re failing to prepare for both kinds of problem, you’re preparing to fail.
Here are two well-known historical disasters that illustrate these two areas of risk.
Screen readers - essential, complex and personal
October 1 2015
By Greg Jotham, Chief Quality Auditor at AQuA
Over the last year I've been learning a great deal about the challenges in making applications meet accessibility requirements, while I worked on creating AQuA's first Accessibility Testing Criteria, greatly aided by the contributions of specialist organisations with decades of experience in this field. I've come to realise how vital for people with limited vision is the contribution made by screen readers, and some of the things I've observed when looking at the range of screen readers available for desktop systems, particularly Windows systems, suggest that it's in the users' interest for there to be a range of competing third-party screen readers in addition to any default screen readers provided by the OS.
Why? Because screen readers are essential, complex and personal.
VEGAS, the App - quality considerations
September 10 2014
Las Vegas welcomed nearly 40 million visitors in 2013, the majority of whom came to town looking for coveted tickets to their favorite event. A few days ago Digital Management, Inc. (DMI) and Brand Vegas announced the availability of VEGAS, the App, designed specifically for mobile platforms.
We asked AQuA-Endorsed Developer, Golden Gekko (a DMI company), about the quality-related challenges associated with the development of the app.
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