In today’s time, when the rate of digital adoption is at its peak, the User Experience on Mobile Apphas turned into an indispensable matter. Most customers are getting overcritical in application usage, especially now, as almost everything gets done remotely. A recent research shows that 50% of mobile users reject an app with a 3-star rating with that share rising to 85% for a 2-star rated app. In addition, 77% of users read at least one review before downloading an app. Understanding user experience, which drives App store and Play store ratings is thus very important for Mobile App companies but experience is a subjective matter. Application Quality Index or AQI lets mobile apps measure user experience quantitatively and understand how their app works in real customer locations.

What is AQI?

AQI stands for Application Quality Index. It is a unique methodology that helps assess user experience quantitatively. AQI is built upon other secondary indices such as Responsiveness, Content Experience, Video Quality, Audio Quality, and Functional Stability, in addition to a few more. The Content Experience index varies as App category varies for instance for OTT Apps, it comprises of the Streaming Experience while for Mobile Banking apps, it comprises of the Financial Transaction Experience. Complete breakdown of AQI is illustrated in Figure 1. All indices are derived by employing statistical distribution techniques on raw KPIs as captured by the automated bots.

Each index is created in the following manner:

  • Each user experience KPI or metric is distributed over four ranges, thresholds for which are derived through complex Machine Learning (ML) algorithms. The metrics are then assigned ranks or index depending on which bracket they fall in.
  • Secondary indices are created by taking a weighted average of the indices from Step 1.
  • AQI itself is arrived at by taking a weighted average of the secondary indices.

Figure 1. Application Quality Index Tree for OTT App Evaluation. Underlying metrics are customizable

How is AQI measured for an App?

MOZARK’s Application testing platform performs a series of tests and aggregates the information collected to form metrics and indices. Calculating AQI has a methodical approach –

  • First, our backend automation system performs multiple tests on the selected device, location, and network configuration.
  • Each test is an emulation of a real user journey that a customer would typically perform.
  • Next, the platform does a deep packet inspection (DPI) on the App’s interaction with its backend and CDN to attain App performance KPIs of all 7 layers.
  • Various other logs such as UX logs, device logs, and OS logs among many others are correlated with the DPI results to arrive at UX metrics and the corresponding App performance KPIs
  • The UX metrics are then aggregated using certain thresholds, which have been defined via complex ML models.
  • The aggregates are used to calculate secondary indices that in turn are put in weighted average algorithms to yield AQI.

How can Apps take advantage of AQI?

You can use AQI in these two ways to your advantage:

Real-Time Experience Monitoring

The platform tracks performance by gathering data points 24×7 and detects experience on critical user journeys in the location of your choice, and on the device of your choice; device that is connected to real networks.. Continuously monitoring your application allows you to identify dips in performance and fix them proactively before customers encounter them.

Benchmarking Capabilities

Acquiring new users is getting increasingly difficult in today’s highly competitive world. Same applies to retaining current customers. The best way to surpass them is by proving your app is far better than other apps in delivering a quality experience AQI lets you realize how your app performs against peers, identify best practices of other apps, and confirm your Apps position with the help of data.

I am an App Owner. What should I be doing next?

Users today, to digital and online space for all their chores as Mobile Apps have made fulfilling everyday tasks more convenient. These digital natives demand a certain degree of user experience that AQI can help you assess and deliver.

We know that you understand the importance of delivering high quality experience and we can help you realize those targets. Book a demo call and learn from our experts how you can improve your App Experience.

Written By

Sourabh Chowdhury