Things to know for mobile application testing.
The continuous and highly technical growth in mobile devices and its sophisticated support features have dramatically increased the value of mobile application. The biggest challenges while developing an application for mobile lies in its testing phase. A small bug or a minor fault in an application are not accepted, and is readily rejected with many similar apps running around in the market.
Before we try to understand the testing process of mobile apps, it is important that we understand its different types and issues specific to them. The different types of mobile applications are:
- Browser based applications: These apps are built for mobile browsers and can be accessed by entering the specific URL in the Mobile Browser. They do not require installing, uninstalling or upgrades. However, they require uninterrupted high speed internet connection.
- Pre installed applications: These are built in apps in the mobile device testing . They do not require to be downloaded, installed or uninstalled. However, they can be upgraded automatically. Testing of such applications is very important as they deal with the core data and functions of the device. The only way of removing such applications is to flush the ROM and upgrade it.
- Applications that can be installed: These applications can be downloaded, installed, uninstalled and upgraded. They are operating system specific.
The main goal of testing is not to find errors, rather it is to define the quality of these applications. Testing ensures that the application functions as expected. Mobile application testing is not similar to web application testing as it faces some very unique challenges. Here tradeoffs need to be considered and choices are required to be made. Whatever testing methods are used, each has its own pros and cons.
The unique challenges in application testing are due to differences in:
- Network: The applications need to be tested in- - Different network strengths - no network, low, medium or high - Increasing and decreasing network strengths - Different network speeds - low, medium and high. - Increasing or decreasing network speed - Different network types - 2G, 3G, 4G, Wifi
- Mobile Devices
- Portrait, Landscape - Different battery strengths - critical, low, high, charging - Battery consumption patterns - Memory usage - Interruptions - Incoming calls, receiving calls, incoming message, device shutdown, battery removal, camera activated, losing and regaining network connectivity.
- Mobile operating systems
- iPhones - Android - Blackberry - Symbian - Windows - J2ME
- Input methods
- Touch Screen - Track Ball, Track Wheel - Keypad - Same time multiple inputs.
Mobile Application Testing is not about choosing one tool or a technique.There are too many considerations and too many compromises to be made. Hence, depending upon the type of app, its functions and target audience, combination of testing tools needs to be formed. Some of the recommendations are as follows:
- Considering the advantages of device emulator for performing the bulk of the testing quickly and efficiently.
- Investing in a real device cloud. Create an account with a vendor for remote access to live network and a real device. This is a good cost effective solution for testing on a wide variety of mobile devices.
- Automate tests where possible. Test automation is a time saving solution with a greater degree of consistency and efficiency. This is a very ideal solution for covering a major part of the application testing.
Conclusion:
The scope of testing a mobile application depends on the requirements to be checked. For simple requirements a basic testing will suffice, but for complex applications a full regression testing needs to be performed. Designing the right strategy with the right mobile devices can ensure 100% of test coverage.
