Whether you're running an online paid speed test or a paid consumer product test, there are many ways to reduce the effect of human error in both the acquisition and presentation of data. A lot of people choose to use a program to help them collect their own test data speed - but if you want the most accurate results possible, you need to do it yourself. Here's what you can do to make sure that your data collection:
- Choose the right test method. Two popular methods are comprised of a short multiple-choice section and a longer time selection quiz. The multiple-choice section has several different kinds of answers that can be asked, so that a participant can get a feel for how they do on certain topics. The time selection quiz is a simple multiple-choice section that asks participants to name their age. These two kinds of tests allow you to make small tweaks along the way as you collect more data, which you'll also be able to analyze to see what changes produce the best results.
- Be patient. Don't start your speed check or consumer segment immediately. Instead, give yourself some time to gather your own data and run a test from the beginning until you've got a decent amount of collected data. That way, you can evaluate where the biggest problem areas lie and what you need to work on to resolve them. This will also give you plenty of time to make corrections as necessary and figure out any kinks in your implementation process or system.
- Use the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) philosophy. Don't try to use too many features or too many sub-programs or layers of code in your test automation system. Keep everything straightforward and simple to understand and run. Too many options or layers of code can slow down your test execution and make it difficult to run valid tests in real-world scenarios with realistic inputs. And by simplifying things, you'll also decrease the amount of time it takes testers to debug problems.
- Minimize input handling time. Don't have to go through every single input in the user interface. Instead, filter out common data structures (strings, dates, email addresses) and group all other inputs together into one big field for processing. Save the rest for later. Doing this saves valuable memory space and makes it easier to determine if invalid data has been submitted or if the selected dates are in error.
- Minimize input confirmation time. Eliminate the need to confirm that dates are indeed present and that they're accurate. Instead, validate against a predefined set of dates and only include the inputs that are critical. Doing so also helps you prevent data corruption due to invalid dates.
- Write a script to automate the entire testing and collection processes. Writing scripts for managing test data automatically simplifies your life as well as saving you time. Not only will it save you from manually entering test data but also reduce the risk of human error.
- Test environment selection. Make sure to choose a clean testing environment. This means that the room should be devoid of any dust, smoke, or other particles that could affect the performance of the machines. The ideal choice would be an environment with low ambient temperature and consistent temperature. A room with too much moisture may also negatively affect the performance of the machine.
- Run the test early in the morning before sunrise. This allows you to perform a thorough data collection without any delays. This is the perfect time to collect and organize the data. However, if the test has to be conducted at night, then do so when it's not dark yet.
- Set the threshold for measuring speed. You have the ability to determine how much input data you need to collect from your machine. Set the threshold to a value that would be enough to trigger the machine to initiate the necessary actions. For instance, if you need to gather 10 MB of data, then set your threshold value at least 10 MB. When the machine encounters this threshold value, it'll prompt you to download more data.
- Make sure to create test data that is guaranteed to be accurate. Always save your test results in files that are easily readable by the machine. Also, save the test data on a regular basis. By doing so, you'll be able to retrieve the required data no matter when the system is down. Additionally, if the network connection is slow, then the data will take more time to be uploaded. To address this issue, it's a good idea to allocate a certain amount of physical memory to the application.