The media and entertainment industry is on the rise. In a way, we can say something like this about many niches. Still, taking into account easy access to technology and the internet, restrictions regarding social interactions, an abundance of content released every day, and an increasing number of options for digital entertainment, one can say without a doubt that entertainment apps and services are among the most frequently used.
In 2017, 67% of smartphone users utilized gaming, entertainment, news, and sports apps, coming back to the apps 2x to 3x times a day, according to Ipsos MORI research. 55% of people reported using entertainment apps while relaxing.
PWC predicts that during the next five years traditional TV will lose up to 25 million subscribers. Meanwhile, the OTT sector (over-the-top media services, such as streaming platforms, etc.) is expected to see a 6.9% CAGR increase by 2025. While the fast internet is becoming a common thing in more and more regions, traditional gaming becomes overtaken by social and casual gaming (it happened first in 2020).
In other words, the media and entertainment landscape is highly competitive, and this fact is not going to change in the near future. On the one hand, those who come up with the new E&M services have a huge prospective audience. On the other hand, it is easy to get lost in the abundance of digital entertaining options.
To create a product that stands out, a company needs to start with thorough research, maybe hire QA entertainment technology consultants to help brainstorm the ideas or test the viability of the concepts. Then comes determining the USP and highlights, followed by the development and quality assurance.
Testing for media and entertainment is of the utmost importance. It becomes one of the key competitive advantages that help to win over users exploiting competitors’ services for a long time. Needless to remind that a digital platform with bugs and glitches is rather stressful than entertaining – in other words, it doesn’t fulfill its purpose.
The variety of E&M services is huge. News websites, multimedia players, streaming services, social media, photo and video editing apps, reading apps, virtual tours, video and mobile games, edutainment resources – those are just the ones on the top of mind.
Naturally, the quality assurance processes will vary greatly depending on the type of product a QA company gets to review. It won’t be possible to cover all the details and nuances in one article, so we’ll focus on the general aspects.
Usually, QA for entertainment and media starts from functional testing. Its purpose is to check what a product does. QA specialists test features and functions, verifying against the customer requirements. Functional testing encompasses the following:
Non-functional testing focuses on a different aspect of software behavior. It helps to learn how a product works, evaluating its speed, usability, accessibility, and so on. In a way, it helps to determine whether a product meets end-user expectations. Some of the commonly used activities that fall under this category are:
It is significant to remember that QA activities for media and entertainment services don’t end with the product release. After the release comes software maintenance and support. Most companies keep developing and updating their products. It can involve enhancing an app with new features, adding more content, changing the design, entering new markets, and so on. Some of the QA processes that can take place at this stage are:
The media and entertainment sector offers limitless opportunities for software and content providers. However, these opportunities come with a huge number of competitors. In such an environment, software quality becomes one of the highlights that help a product stand out. That’s why it is crucial to test the software before it goes live. If you’ve already released a product without realizing how important testing is, make sure to find a QA provider that will check it as soon as possible.
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