Testing in the Metaverse

Now that Metaverse has already been here for a while, it’s only after Facebook decided to rebrand itself to Meta, did people realise of its existence. The idea to change the name to “Meta” was based on the company’s plans to build a Metaverse – the next chapter of the Internet.

The Metaverse blurs the boundaries between technology and the real world.

The matrix of digital experiences (DX) from companies like Facebook, Amazon, Epic and Microsoft introduce fully immersive digital workforce collaborations within Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality worlds. These companies have taken the first step as the early adopters to build the Metaverse for the general public.

So, when it’s pretty clear that Metaverse is here to stay –
What does it mean for companies? How can one build and test applications & digital products inside the Metaverse?

How would you test new technologies like NFTs containing digital artefacts that span across Blockchain / Oracles / Crypto wallets of testing merchandise rendered onto your 3D avatar representation of your digital twin self on your daily-standup on Microsoft Teams Mesh?
Listen to Jonathan Wright talk about this at QA Global Summit’22.

Testing in the Metaverse

As the Metaverse is intertwined with AR and VR technology, testing becomes really complex and hence, a viable solution is required. The most efficient way to test these solutions is by developing a comprehensive testing strategy.

Let’s understand the different types of tests that one must include in their test strategy to cover all possibilities:

Performance Testing

This would help to determine the stability, speed, scalability and responsive of applications and digital products in the Metaverse. Moreover, it would help to discover any limitations and eliminate performance bottlenecks. Some key questions that this would answer is:

• How would the solutions perform under a specific user load?
• Can it handle the anticipated user load for a long duration?
• How does it manage high traffic or data processing?
• Can the user load be increased?

Usability Testing

This would help to verify if all features of the workable AR/VR products are working as intended. It helps to detect flaws in the design architecture, logic flows & user interface design. It would provide answers to the following questions:

• How intuitive is the product?
• How accurate is the user’s transition between the physical and virtual worlds?
• Does it cause any sort of discomfort like motion sickness to the users?
• How is the overall user experience after using the product?

Audio and Video Testing

Media quality is very critical for user retention and success. As we know, users have different network connections and device configurations which influence the Audio and Video quality.

Immersive Testing

This looks at how immersive your product is in the Metaverse. If it’s quite a bit, users can experience motion sickness and discomfort. If it’s not, users will not be able to immerse themselves in the experience completely. You need to find the perfect balance.

Hardware Testing

This involves testing all the hardware devices used either to build the Metaverse or as part of it. For instance: AR/VR headsets, gears, sensors and other wearable technology.

Accessibility Testing

This is key to making sure all users can easily access the Metaverse without any inconvenience, disabilities and limitations.

Security Testing

This involves a variety of tests like penetration testing, to simulate cyberattacks and check for security vulnerabilities and flaws.

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