Today, mobile phones have developed from simple communication devices to tools capable of almost everything, including online shopping, restaurant ordering, cab service, and even simple instructions. All of this may be accomplished utilizing a mobile phone and mobile applications, sometimes known as mobile “apps”.
Apps are the foundation of numerous businesses throughout the world. As a result, it is critical to design high-quality applications.
What is Mobile App Testing?
Mobile app testing is a process that all applications designed for portable devices must go through in order to ensure a specific degree of quality. Testing occurs prior to the release of an application into the marketplace, often known as the App Store. The App Store has several names depending on the operating system. For example, the App Store is known as the Play Store on all Google or Android-powered portable devices. On iOS devices, it’s known as the App Store.
Why is Mobile App Testing Important?
Usually, mobile apps have more users than desktop programs. Thus, it is essential to test across a larger spectrum of devices if one wants to produce excellent apps.
Usually, the development life of mobile apps is far shorter than that of desktop applications. Thus, the success of mobile applications depends critically on mobile application testing.
Mobile apps are assessed against a range of standards including usability, functionality, consistency, performance, security, and user interface.This improves the Apps’ overall efficiency on all fronts while also enhancing user reliability.
Mobile App Testing assists with:
- Improved user satisfaction.
- Enhances brand image.
- Achieve a solid ROI.
- Developing a completely functional app.
Types of Mobile Apps
The sort of mobile app to be evaluated is critical in determining your testing strategy. There are about four categories of mobile applications.
Native Mobile Applications
These mobile apps are specific to a certain platform, such as Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS, or Windows Phone. Because the operating system and device-specific functionalities were built expressly for that platform, they can be used more effectively.
For example, native Android apps may be found on the Play Store, iOS apps on the App Store, and so on.
Web Applications
These apps are pure web applications that can be viewed using mobile native browsers such as Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. Web applications are tested with the most common test automation frameworks, such as Selenium Test Framework.
They don’t need any storage space or installation methods. These web applications are designed to be responsive. As a result, they adjust to multiple screen sizes and devices, which helps to cut company expenditures.
Progressive Web Applications
PWAs are website extensions that may be saved to your computer or other device and used as a Web app. They utilize extremely little data and are updated in the same way that web pages are.
Hybrid Mobile Applications
Hybrid mobile apps are created on a single platform and published across multiple app stores, such as the App Store or the Play Store. This helps the firm save time and resources.
The Importance of Agile and Continuous Integration in App Testing
According to an Atlassian report, 80-90% of DevOps teams already adopt Agile methodologies, which has a big impact on QA.
Agile development necessitates faster and more frequent testing by QA teams. Because of the standard 10-day sprint cycle, mobile app testing is incorporated throughout the development process.
These changes need faster and more efficient mobile application testing, stressing the importance of a planned testing strategy to retain both pace and quality.
How Do I Test Mobile Applications?
Here are the steps for testing mobile applications:
Test Scope and Coverage
Begin by selecting which specific features and functionality will be tested. Define the testing scope, which should include functional, usability, compatibility, performance, and security tests.
Key areas to focus on are:
- Sign-up and login processes
- Performance over several network connections.
- Layout compatibility across various screen sizes.
Consider app interactions, type (native, mobile-web, or hybrid), front-end versus back-end testing, and network compatibility.
Identify testing locations
Localization testing is critical for applications that serve a global audience. This ensures that the software works properly in many places and languages, going beyond simple translation and avoiding frequent cultural and language difficulties.
Decide device coverage
Determine which devices and operating systems to test. Leading firms frequently test over 24 device-OS combinations before to release. Consider:
- Supported operating systems
- earliest relevant operating system versions.
- Popular gadgets among your target audience.
Plan mobile app tests
Create a detailed testing action plan that specifies who will run the tests and when they will be completed. Create test suites by writing test cases or automated test scripts.
Manual versus Automated Testing
Combine automated and manual testing, as each provides specific advantages. Automated testing works well for repetitive jobs and stable code, whereas manual testing is required for real-world circumstances.
Write test cases
Create manual test cases and automated test scripts, either in-house or with a quality assurance partner.
Identify the testing approach/partner.
Choose between conducting in-house testing and hiring a crowdsourcing QA business. Crowdsourced testing allows for scalable, high-quality testing by testers who are similar to your end consumers.
Perform app testing
Execute test cases and scripts in accordance with your test scope and release schedule. For example, utilizing continuous integration (CI), nightly builds can be routed to a device farm for automated testing and a QA platform for manual testing by real users.
Why is it important?
Mobile app testing must be done properly for various reasons. Its primary function is to aid in the detection and resolution of problems and malfunctions that may have a detrimental influence on the user experience.
Best Practices in Mobile Application Testing
Consider implementing the following recommended practices to ensure the effectiveness of your mobile app testing process:
Early and Continuous Testing: Begin testing as soon as feasible in development and continue testing at each step to detect problems early.
Real-World Testing: Run the app through real-world scenarios to evaluate its performance in conditions that users may encounter.
User Experience Testing: To ensure that the software satisfies user expectations, prioritize testing the user interface, navigation, and overall user experience.
Security is paramount: Integrate security testing into your workflow to uncover and address potential vulnerabilities that could jeopardize user data.
Regression Testing: Regression testing should be performed on a regular basis to guarantee that new additions or upgrades do not cause issues or conflict with existing functionality.