How we tested | Writi ng apps
The apps were installed on a 2012 Mac mini running El Capitan. They were used at various screen sizes in order to ascertain whether this affected how well they worked.
We primarily tested them by sitting in front of the screen and writing – while keeping some questions in mind. How did each application feel to use? Were any roadblocks thrown up, thereby slowing us down? How easy was each app to set up in the first place, and were there any customisation options provided to finetune everything to our liking?
Modern writing is often about more than just writing until you’re done, so we explored common requirements writers have, whether they’re working for magazines and websites or putting together text for a presentation: access to document statistics, such as word counts; support for structural formatting; and exporting documents in formats that are widely accepted. Not all of the apps did everything, so we were aware we’d be looking for some kind of sweet spot – an app that did enough of the right things in a pleasing, efficient, usable manner.