Exploratory Web Site Testing in Every Browser and Operating System
It has been some time now, but this story can finally be told.
Late at night and over the weekends, holidays and any other days, Ted and I worked on a side project that inspired us all last year. We didn't publicize our work even to our friends and clients because we didn't know how it would turn out or where it might lead.
This idea grew in many surprising and ways and soon came to take even more of our time than we anticipated. But the results was worth it. What came of our efforts with our partners, AH and DV, was he world's first on-demand, comprehensive browser and operating system exploratory testing software available by subscription. With it, a web or other applications developer could explore and record their web site's presentation and functionality in every browser and operating system known to man, with tools like side-by-side views, onion-skin comparison overlays and even sight-impaired simulator filters. One could even record a live session on a web site and save the video for documenting errors to others. What's more, this application allowed for detailed reporting of all results in a media-rich environment that could be shared with fellow testers. We loved how it helped us in our web work - it was the tool we always wanted but never had - and we were very pleased with how it turned out.
We named it meer|meer.
As a subscription-based software offering, it was so popular in its beta phase that we attracted the attention of a very large software media company based in San Francisco which, after weeks of discussions, and for an undisclosed amount, purchased the entire application. Soon we hope this versatile and fun-to-use testing tool will be an every day necessity for millions of web developers around the world, resulting in better code and design for all users across all browsers and platforms and thus, just maybe, a better internet.
We wanted to thank here all the people who helped this barn-burner become a reality - you know who you are! JH, DV, EV, PT, BA, SD, Helen, Kate, AH, RN, PS and TC. And best of luck to our friends in San Francisco as they work to take the product global.