In this age of technological advancement, mobile applications are playing a huge role. With the presence of so many applications doing the same thing, users are inclined to choose the ones that offer overall smoothness rather than just design and features. The biggest obstacle to that would be the presence of a glitch or a bug that could prevent user to do some basic task. Thus, the most challenging part for mobile app developers and owners along with app-development is to hand out the application with minimum number of glitches.
What is Mobile App Testing?
So,Here comes the role of ‘Mobile app testing’ before launching the application officially in the market.
Mobile App testing helps to assess the overall functionality and consistency of the application before its final release. For example, messaging, layout, sign-in, sign-out, and push notifications are some primary features common across users. If any error pops up while using these, it will affect the user experience. Hence, mobile app testing is an opportunity for QA engineers and developers to test its efficiency and usability.
However, it is important to conduct it systematically or else it might become too big to handle. Follow our step-by-step guide to get an idea.
1. Prepare a Strategy
This is the very first step after the application development process is on its end. Make outlines of the activities you are going to perform to evaluate the practicability of your app. It will let you choose the proper mobile app testing tool to make your mobile app more reliable. Following are some examples of draft items to make it simpler:
- Data-usage and Storage usage
- Interaction with third-party apps
- Stress handling capability
- Performance on different networks
- Compatibility with different OS
- Localization testing
- Requires Native or Pwa or Hybrid testing
- Check if app testing tool co-operates with both front-end and back-end testing
2. Automated and Manual mobile app testing
Many developers prefer to work solely with automated testing, which is a computerized approach. However, a smart testing plan is a combination of both manual and automated testing to identify the flaws in an app. Some automated mobile app testing tools let you manage automated tests like a manual test. For example Testsigma is one such tool that has really simplified mobile app test automation. Let’s have a look at both the options:
If you need to run the same case multiple times, consider automated testing. You can perform smaller mobile app tests in an automated way. For regular check-ups on app features, automating the task will save you time by avoiding unnecessary errors while repeating tests manually.
On the other hand, conducting manual mobile app testing provides a deeper insight into every aspect of the application under test. Human supervision makes manual testing more effective, as it can fetch deep errors to make your app more reliable for end users.
3. Test Case and Script Design
Now come the test case and script design to make a test execution plan. The term ‘Test Case’ is for manual testing, whereas ‘Script Design’ is during automated testing. Whichever type of testing you choose; it is very important to draft a test case or script design as per the design and function of your mobile application.
Also, add some extra test cases to check your mobile app completely in and out. Like, a test case about localization to understand how your application works when a user’s time zone and language change.
4. Setup Appropriate Environment for Testing
After having done with test case drafts, it’s time for a suitable ‘Test framework’. A test framework includes an appropriate organization of codes and devices needed to execute test cases or script design. Whether you prefer automated testing or manual testing, this is the crucial step. See test framework as a helping hand in the overall assessment with hardware, software, and app design.
The fundamental part is studying your mobile application (You are going to test) perfectly so you can set an effective Test framework or environment. The right Test framework ensures successful mobile app testing, whereas even a slight imperfection will cost you money and time.
5. Execute test cases or script design
Now with the Developers and QA engineers execute the test cases. The result entirely depends on the mobile application you are testing and the mobile testing tool you have chosen.
Let’s understand the importance of a reliable mobile app testing tool with an example:
Suppose you have Testsigma, a test automation tool for mobile applications. So, your mobile app gets updated and tested regularly via Testsigma’s cloud-based test automation ecosystem. Their automated system with scalable test cases minimizes your testing time by executing it parallelly with accuracy. Once the results are ready, it automatically reports to you. If there are any breaks, you get to know about them as the tests are executed. In this way a right mobile app testing tool (like Testsigma) saves you from random human errors and helps you to improve your mobile application to make it more efficient.
6. Beta Testing
Beta testing is a crucial step of mobile app testing before releasing your application to the customers. After alpha testing (Engine�rs testing the application), dispatch your application with limited access settings to genuine users to try it for a specific timeframe. This will let you discover the hidden bugs or performance issues with your mobile application.
The user’s review of the beta version will let you assess the Real-time functionality of your mobile app in terms of stress handling, layouts, accuracy, and efficiency. It will make you clear whether your mobile app is ready for the target market or it requires some improvements for better results.
7. Performance Testing
Performance testing is all about how the mobile application performs in terms of responsiveness and stability when put under a certain workload. It will let you assess speed, power consumption, quality, app size, and more to ensure the compatibility of the mobile app. Like, when you will use your mobile app over different networks and servers, you can assess its performance in terms of speed, accuracy, memory utilization, and time taken by it to give an output to the user.
8. Security Testing
Securing your application from external threats and vulnerabilities of hacking is very important. SQL injection, session management, data security, SSL, gate catchers, and bundle sniffing are some spots to consider while performing mobile applications security testing.
Like, username and password encryption are important to ensure a successful mobile app launch. Security of your mobile app affects the overall performance, which makes it an essential step in Mobile app testing.
9. Cross-compatibility testing
In today’s era where most mobile devices have iOS or Android operating system devices, it is necessary to look after the device compatibility of mobile applications.
Apple’s iOS uses Objective C (Apple’s own Xcode) whereas Android OS follows Linux kernel (For file system), Standard C (For Hardware), and open-source java classes (For Applications). Like, there is a user who has an iPhone as well as an Android smartphone. He loves using your application in his Android phone but now he wants to use it on his iPhone. Now, this is only possible if your application works seamlessly across all the operating systems and devices otherwise he will get disappointed. This makes cross-compatibility testing a necessity in mobile app testing.
10. Test Report
This is the ultimate step where the mobile testing tool produces the test report with the final result in terms of pass and failure of your mobile application. It assesses the application’s framework to ensure it is meeting the general acceptance criteria. Like Testsigma’s automated testing tool provides a complete mobile app testing report, in the end, showing every basic detail whether a test case is failing or passing, in case of failures it will also save screen recording and logs for you to make the debugging easier.
Let’s Sum up
With the rise of mobile handset users to 3.8 billion in 2020, the rate of application installation is also increasing. Which makes start-to-end mobile app testing necessary to ensure its reliability. Starting from comfortable installation to smooth performance across different operating systems. So, the manual and automated mobile app testing will help your mobile app to stand out in the ocean of applications.