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ustomer

If there is one aspect of modern society that affects millions of people across the

United States, it would be that the majority of them lead an existence that could best be

described as cluttered. From the amount of physical items that exist in a household, to the

constant need for digital management of work-related and personal lives, being organized

provides a challenge on every level.

Understanding how to make best use of time is a science in itself, and one that is inevitably

linked to individuals knowing where to start. Some people equate a busy life with increased

levels of stress, and while a monastic lifestyle is not the answer, the simple fact is that there

are ways to alleviate this condition.

Reducing the potential for stress through better organization is what The Container Store

does every day. Since it was founded in 1978, the company has dedicated itself to providing

physical solutions to personal and business storage problems, with the Texas-based firm

acknowledged as a leader in the specialty retail sector.

The Container Store does exactly what it says on the tin. It sells products that store and

organize items, with customers able to visit over 80 locations spread across 32 states. However,

with the growing acceptance of ecommerce within the retail sector as a whole, the firm

understands that being online is equally important.

Challenges Although the company is known as being the original storage and organization store, moving

into the digital world has provided it with an opportunity to reach new markets, with mobile

access being high on the list. Bearing in mind that The Container Store promotes the idea that

CASE STUDYC O M P A N YThe Container Store

I N D U S T R Y Retail

T E S T I N G T Y P E SFunctional | Usability

A P P T Y P E SWebsites | Mobile

C H A L L E N G E SEnsuring app will work flawlessly across all combinations of devices, platforms, and operating systems in order to keep pace with the rapid evolution of ecommerce

Reflecting the level of neatness and organization their brand has become known for with an app that is intuitively designed and simple to use

R E S U L T SLeveraged video reviews created by testers navigating the app to receive objective feedback on app design

Sourcing hundreds of testers in the US on a monthly basis to ensure customers can make purchases, browse, and plan projects with its supplies whenever and wherever they want

C

the goods it sells can change lives, it makes sense to increase focus on providing organization

on-the-go.

According to Brad Schneider, Director of Web Development, this demonstrated need to integrate

mobile into customer interaction was why Applause was brought on board. The company has had

a mobile website for around seven years, and with so many players in the overall ecommerce

space, effective and efficient app testing was a priority.

“When I arrived, about eight years ago, there was not a QA department,” he says. “ There were

testers on the business side. I would categorize it as strong acceptance testing, but definitely

short on resources, not really able to cover the full breadth of development that was going

on. We established that department with, I think, four people internally. But then we couldn’t

ramp up quickly just by hiring and organic growth and looked into Applause as an option to

accelerate that process and provide us a greater capability.”

The rapid evolution of online shopping as an accepted part of retail means that vendors such

as The Container Store have to make sure that customers are able to browse and buy when they

need. Bearing in mind that there are a variety of mobile devices and platforms available to the

average user, testing a web app across the software development lifecycle often puts a strain

on internal QA teams, even more so if there are limited resources available.

solution

“I think, like anybody else, we’re finding the sheer number of platforms in mobile and then

operating systems versions and device variations within each of those,” Schneider says, “I mean,

the combinations and permutations of device profiles is just exploding, and it’s only going to

get worse. The markets are only going to get more fragmented...Applause gives us that device

coverage that we cannot even hope to do internally.”

An important consideration in any web app testing process is how it behaves in the real world

and it is an accepted fact by developers that an unsatisfactory user experience is not good news.

The Container Store may be considered to be a specialty retailer, but there is an increasing

amount of storage and organization solutions available through non-specific portals such as

Amazon, ensuring that testing outside the lab must dovetail with internal procedures.

“Rarely is Applause looking at stuff for the first time,” notes Schneider, who acknowledges

that the relationship has allowed the QA team to follow a broader coverage path. “It’s usually

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“APPL AUSE GIVES US THAT DEVICE COVERAGE THAT WE CANNOT EVEN HOPE TO DO INTERNALLY”

Brad Schneider

Director of Web Development

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gone through either our internal QA or a third party vendor QA. Then it’s at the point where

everybody’s saying, ‘Oh, yeah. It’s all tested.’ Then we use Applause to ensure that and provide

more breadth. (Testers are) finding things after it’s already had a couple of rounds of QA. When

they find something it’s truly something that somebody’s missed. Either we’ve missed or our

third party partners have missed. They’re not doing a first pass.”

Knowing that identifying the low hanging fruit is not the prime consideration allows a managed

testing community to concentrate on what the web app is supposed to do. For that reason,

having access to Applause testers in the wild is, in Schneider’s opinion, an invaluable resource

that he refers to as a “force multiplier” -- in other words, an extension of what the team is doing

as part and parcel of user-centric app development.

results

“I think the usability stuff has been pretty compelling. I think there’s a good value,” he says.

“Just knowing that there’s a lot of eyes looking at something, and they ’re looking at it not from

an internal perspective but presumably more of a fresh set of eyes on things. I think that’s

something you can’t really replicate.”

As the pace of life increases, the economics of retail app development mean that consumers are

used to a product that makes their lives easier, especially when it comes to reducing clutter.

Just being organized can relieve perceived stress, a mantra for the modern world in which

effective testing makes it a pleasure, and not a chore.

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“THEY’RE LOOKING AT IT NOT FROM AN INTERNAL PERSPECTIVE BUT PRESUMABLY MORE FROM A FRESH SET OF EYES ON THINGS. I THINK THATS SOMETHING YOU CAN’T REALLY REPLICATE”

Brad Schneider

Director of Web Development

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about appl ause

Applause empowers leading brands to deliver flawless digital experiences for their customers on any device, in every location. Applause testing, feedback and research solutions enable businesses to delight customers, drive topline revenue and innovate faster.

Applause ensures digital quality for websites, mobile apps, IoT products and in-store interactions in a way no other approach can - via our technology platform and managed global community of over 300,000 professional and on-demand testers. Only real people on real devices in real locations can provide the real issues and feedback that brands need to deliver great digital customer experiences. You can’t hire, outsource or automate the increasingly converged digital-physical experience that defines real customer interaction, but you can replicate it with the crowdsourced approach provided by Applause.

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