In the current app-development scenario, apps need to be tested across various mobile devices and operating systems to check their compatibility, usability and consistency. In order to build applications that are scalable and accessible across multiple platforms, automation testing can be used.
As manual testing is time consuming, costly, and prone to errors, it makes sense to leverage automation for a wide range of repetitive tasks, such as regression and performance testing.
Automated testing will allow the testers to quickly check the new or recent updates or changes in the application for errors, defects, and vulnerabilities. Additionally, it helps them to:
1.Run tests on multiple devices in parallel
2.Reuse tests
3.Get enhanced coverage
4.Achieve better ROI
Mobile app testing is usually a challenging undertaking requiring a lot of resources and dedication from your mobile team. There are just too many factors to consider and plan for when it comes to mobile testing strategies.
Some key points for mobile app testing
1. Integration of QA from beginning:
You should integrate QA into every process from the beginning so all teams are aligned as to what needs to be tested and how. This approach will ensure that your QA team know their test cases as well as business and functional requirements that need to be met.
2. OS testing and support :
Even though most devices in the mobile market use iOS and Android, it’s important to pre-plan what OS your app will support, and not only which OS but, more importantly, which versions will be supported. Testing an app on a single OS is easy but when you start running into more and more versions it becomes a more difficult task.
3. Device testing :
One of the toughest tasks facing QA teams is making sure an app is working well on all devices. After knowing which OS versions will be supported, it’s important to look into which devices need to be tested. The more devices that need to be tested, the longer the testing phase can take. Emulators can be used to make device testing more cost-effective. By emulating a huge array of mobile devices simultaneously, you will be able to save a lot of time and man-power on testing devices. This is also useful when physical devices are not readily available for testing.
4. Security testing :
The more data being sent back and forth with apps the more security becomes a primary concern. A study by IBM on the financial impact of data breaches found that the cost of a data breach on average is more than $2.5 million.
The stats for mobile app security are abysmal and this shouldn’t be the norm. It’s critical that you plan security testing early on and check for any data leakages, make sure web data isn’t vulnerable, and there are no security exploits.
5. UI and UX testing :
The user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) are the next things that need to be planned well without fail.
The user interface is what the users see and how they interact with your mobile application.
The UI should be designed in a way that it is to understand and navigate through the app for all categories of users.
Similarly, for UX also the navigation between the pages and the time taken to generate the reports of output as per the application should be well within the pre-defined SLA.
6. Backend Testing :
Backend testing is done to ensure the data is getting stored in the right places and in the right format.
During the testing, we need to ensure that the data entered by the user is saved correctly, against the right profile, and also it should be easily retrievable.
7. Network compatibility Testing :
Mobile applications behave according to the variances in internet strength
In this case, network compatibility testing needs to be included in your test strategy as well.
This will include testing the application in different network configurations like with data and wifi.
Different signal strength, bandwidth, and then measuring the TPS (transactions per second) to see if is within the planned SLA.
Target Market & appropriate strategies:
One of the very first things to figure out is to decide which will be your target market, where you want your app to be available. You can then start to face the challenges using the information you have on your target market.
The biggest challenge to face in mobile testing is definitely a huge, growing number of Android mobile devices and therefore screen-sizes and OSs fragmentation. Apple has less mobile devices but there is still some fragmentation there. Localization, user’s mobility, and different mobile networks are other main mobile testing challenges.
Emulators or Physical device
One of the important factors related to mobile app testing is the platform in which the testing will be performed. Whether the platform should be a physical device or an emulator depends upon nature of the test which needs to be carried out. Emulators can be utilized for user interface testing, and physical devices are most suitable for performance testing. Emulators can also be used to improve the cost-effectiveness of mobile app testing. There is no generalized opinion on which one is best for mobile app testing. It can be decided only after complete introspection the project and analyzing the nature of the testing.
Beta Testing
Some companies use crowdfunding platforms to source beta testers for their apps. They prepare the app in alpha stage and publish it on a platform like Kickstarter to drive awareness, possibly securing more funding as well.
Another way to get an unbiased set of beta testers is a limited launch. Distributing your app to only a specific country or region lets you test new features of your app before a wide release.
However, getting the best selection of beta testers doesn’t guarantee good results if your app doesn’t include monitoring or analytics tools. That’s how you can track the ways in which users interact with the app and check which features aren’t working properly.
It’s smart to build that feature of your app in a way that enables you to switch on and off different app functionalities. This way, you can have one group of beta testers test one feature and another group test a different feature. That’s the best way to get a realistic view of how the app performs when tested in the wild, and it’s more effective than asking users to report on their activities or fill out surveys.
Conclusion
By considering how your app functions and performs under real-world conditions, and by emulating all of those conditions with virtual testing, you’ll be able to accurately and effectively predict how end users will experience your app once it’s launched.