Introduction
Mobile applications have become an indispensable part of everyone's daily lives. As the number of mobile devices and their corresponding applications continue to grow exponentially, it is crucial to ensure that these apps are thoroughly tested and optimized for optimal performance. This is where HeadSpin, a global omnichannel testing platform, comes into play. HeadSpin has developed a state-of-the-art metric called the Impact Score, which assesses the impact of an app's performance on user experience.
This blog highlights the important details of HeadSpin's Impact Score, including how it is calculated and the fundamental metrics employed to evaluate an app's performance.
What is Impact Score and How is It Calculated?
HeadSpin's Impact Score is a metric used to evaluate app performance by measuring issues' impact on a session's duration. This proprietary score takes into account the HeadSpin benchmark for app performance, which represents the expected time for an optimized app to complete the same tasks. HeadSpin’s Impact Score is calculated by analyzing various data points related to mobile app performance. These data points include screen change, low page content, page content score, visual page load, and the total duration for hung methods. These metrics provide a comprehensive view of app performance and help identify areas for improvement.
Please check: What are the Differentiating Factors That Make HeadSpin Unique?
Key Metrics Used by HeadSpin to Analyze App Performance
1. Screen Change
Screen change is a HeadSpin metric that measures the degree of visual alteration between two consecutive frames of a video. This metric is calculated by taking the average of the intensity differences between adjacent pixels. The metric values range from 0 to 1, where 0 signifies no change in the screen, and 1 indicates the most significant possible visual changes across all pixels. This metric provides a quantitative measure of the visual changes in apps and can help detect issues such as sudden screen flickers, visual artifacts, and other anomalies that can impact the user experience negatively.
2. Page Content Score
Page content score is a HeadSpin metric that measures the amount of information displayed on a web page on a frame-by-frame basis. It provides insights into the visual performance of a web page, specifically the amount of content that is displayed to the user at different points during the page load process. The page content score can be used to track the progress of a page load and determine when the above-the-fold content has fully loaded.
3. Low Page Content
Low page content is a HeadSpin metric that is measured using HeadSpin's visual loading metrics capabilities. The HeadSpin Platform surfaces low page content issue cards when there is very little information displayed on screen for more than 1 second. A low page content issue can negatively impact user engagement and retention and may even result in lower search engine rankings. To ensure a positive user experience and improve website performance, it is important to address low page content issues promptly.
4. Visual Page Load with Lower End Sensitivity
Visual page load with lower end sensitivity is a crucial HeadSpin metric employed to gauge the LCP (largest contentful paint) by utilizing HeadSpin's visual page load algorithm with a lower end sensitivity value than the default setting. This metric is particularly significant since mobile and non-browser devices lack the necessary instrumentation to track the number of visible page elements with registered event handlers. By monitoring the visual page load with lower end sensitivity, developers and testers can ensure that their apps perform optimally across a wide range of devices and networks, delivering an optimal user experience for all users.
5. Visual Page Load
Visual page load is a metric developed by HeadSpin that enables testers to measure the time to interactive (TTI) using HeadSpin's visual page load algorithm. The visual page load time is a critical factor that determines how quickly a user can interact with the page and perform desired actions. By using HeadSpin's visual page load algorithm, testers can ensure that their applications are optimized for fast and seamless performance on mobile devices.
6. Total Duration for Hung Methods Issue Cards
Total duration for hung methods issue is a HeadSpin metric used to identify client-side code call stacks that can be debugged in Android and iOS native applications. When a method running on the main thread exceeds the 32-millisecond threshold, it can cause the application to become unresponsive. In such cases, HeadSpin automatically generates hung method issue cards. The cumulative duration of these issues is similar to TBT but specific to mobile devices.
7. Impact Time
Impact time is HeadSpin's proprietary performance metric that evaluates the duration for which an issue impacts an app session, taking into account the benchmark created by HeadSpin for optimized app performance. The benchmark decided by HeadSpin for an issue is the ideal time required for an optimized app to accomplish the tasks. If the impact time is greater than 0, it indicates poor app performance relative to the benchmark and represents an opportunity for app performance improvement.
Check out: A Guide on How to Use HS Tunnel
Key Benefits of Using HeadSpin's Impact Score
HeadSpin's Impact Score is becoming an industry benchmark in the mobile app testing space. It is similar to Google's Lighthouse in the desktop web app testing space, as both use metrics that measure user experience. The key benefits of using HeadSpin Impact Score include the following:
- Better User Experience: By addressing performance issues highlighted by HeadSpin's Impact Score, app developers and testers can provide a better user experience to their users.
- Improved App Performance: HeadSpin's Impact Score can help improve app performance, leading to higher user engagement, increased app usage, and better app store ratings.
- Reduced Churn: Poor app performance can lead to user frustration and churn. By using HeadSpin's Impact Score to identify and fix performance issues, enterprises can reduce churn and retain more users.
- Accurate and Comprehensive: HeadSpin's Impact Score provides accurate and comprehensive data on app performance, enabling development and QA teams to make informed decisions on app optimization and improvement.
Conclusion
HeadSpin’s Impact Score is a powerful metric for measuring mobile app performance. By analyzing key metrics like screen change, low page content, and visual page load, HeadSpin’s Impact Score provides valuable insights into app performance and helps development and QA teams optimize their apps for better user experience, increased engagement, and higher app store ratings.
Take your app testing to the next level by partnering with HeadSpin.
FAQs
Q1. What is Speed Index (SI)?
Ans: Speed Index (SI) is a performance metric that measures how quickly a web page is visually complete above-the-fold.
Q2. What is Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Ans: Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is a performance metric that measures the perceived visual stability of a web page load.
-1280X720-Final-2.jpg)
