In the era of Millennials and Generation Z, mobile application usage has jumped up to a whole new level. Mobile has become a core part of ourselves. From buying groceries to buying medicine, everyone wants to have it all at their fingertips.
As an end user, you will be happy if you are satisfied with the application you are using, but that same experience might turn 360° opposite if you are not satisfied, resulting in the uninstallation of the application.
However, have you ever wondered about the working process for delivering a seamless mobile experience? Before an application reaches out to the end users, it goes through a development process and rigorous testing phase to ensure the end product satisfies the user.
If you are someone who is involved in Software Testing and looking for a guide to point you toward the best approach for testing a Mobile Application then you are in the right place. Let us help you to identify the key factors to test a mobile application thoroughly.
But before going deep, let us take a look at the different types of mobile applications:
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- Native Apps are specially designed for a particular mobile OS (Android or iOS).
- Responsive Web Apps are normal web applications aimed to run in mobile browsers or progressive web apps.
- Hybrid Apps are generally a combination of both. They are not dependent on OS and can be installed on any platform using their respective application store.
Is Mobile testing different from Web Testing?
In Mobile application testing, there are certain additional intricacies that one needs to take into consideration before starting with mobile application testing! For example, end users will use those applications on a plethora of devices and operating systems across the world. These devices vary in resolution, network, functionalities, etc. Hence, thorough testing of the entire application is necessary to deliver a seamless application.
Best Practise of Mobile Application Testing
Planning
Once the design is frozen and the application development starts you will need to go through the approved design and will need to scope through the accepted edge cases or business cases. Once the development is almost complete you will need to figure out the end goal of the application and the challenges you might face going forward.
Identifying Test types
You will also need to identify what different test approaches you will need to test that specific app like functional, usability, UI, performance, etc. Also, try to figure out if there are any specific conditions like-
- Targetted end devices
- Targetted OS versions
- Targetted Audience
- Targetted Geographic locations
- Locale
- Network
Test Case Design
The next step is to prepare the test case covering every feature and functionality. The test case should be designed with consideration for both manual and automation standpoints covering regression test scenarios as well.
Test Environment Setup
Before executing the test, one should make sure that the test environment is properly configured. Test Environment setup for automation includes installation and configuration of tools. For manual testing, it will refer to the various test devices, user credentials, access to simulators, and project management tools.
Test Execution
Once you have completed designing the test case and have your test environment ready, it’s time for the execution part. The test execution process should cover the following-
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Installation Testing ➧
The first and foremost step in mobile application testing is installation testing. Once you get the test build from your developer team, you should first install the application immediately. This is done to ensure the received build is getting installed without any hiccups.
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Compatibility Testing ➧
To ensure your application will work across a variety of mobile devices and operating systems, a compatibility test is performed. You should test your application on both Android & iOS with at least two different real devices of different OS versions. Furthermore, test the application using a device simulator taking into consideration at least three older OS versions and devices of different manufacturers for Android alone. For iOS, you can follow the same steps to test the application against different OS versions.
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UI and UX Testing ➧
After your compatibility test, you will need to check the UI and UX from an end-user perspective to ensure the application is easy to use and follows a standardized interface. The UI elements should be crisp and properly aligned with the interface and also should sync properly with user actions.
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Functional Testing ➧
Functional testing is a key area to test the functional behavior of the application. It should match the accepted requirements covering the uniformity of the flow of the application and validations for negative and positive test scenarios. Functional testing is also the main focusable area for regression testing.
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Interrupt Testing ➧
To test your application behavior against certain real-time interrupt scenarios like receiving a call while using the application or switching between different applications. Your application should be able to retain its state before an interruption occurred.
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Network Testing ➧
Network Testing should be performed to analyze your application response at varying network speeds. It is also essential to identify the network transition of your application. The expected behavior of your application should involve smooth functioning when switching from fast network connectivity to a slower one.
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Hardware Testing ➧
Hardware testing of an application should focus on the response of the application to various related sensors like Gyroscope sensors, proximity sensors, ambient light sensors, etc. It also includes the camera, storage, microphone, location, etc. For example, if you are testing an application that is aimed at video conferencing, then it should rotate your display based on the orientation of your device.
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Performance Testing ➧
Performance Testing should be conducted to ensure the application is performing optimally under a higher load. It should be carried out once your application is tested and refactored thoroughly.
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Security Testing ➧
Functional testers should cover certain basic security testing. They should ensure that the application abides by the accepted business scenario for permissions. Also, they should check OTP or any MFA functionality if present in the application.
Steps of E2E Mobile Testing
Manual or Automated Testing
Whenever it comes to the delivery of a seamless application, both Manual and Automation testing should be conducted in a combined manner.
Automated testing performs excellently covering the Regression suites and Functional checkpoints. On the other hand, Manual testing is mandatory to check the UI and UX of the application. Manual testing helps to test the application from a real user perspective.
Challenges
When it comes to mobile application testing, the first and foremost challenge one faces is the acceptance criteria of the application across a plethora of devices and operating systems. It is a major concern. There are various cloud platforms providing users with device simulators, but still to ensure the highest test coverage, one needs to have few real devices.
Various screen sizes also take part in giving hard time to both developers and testers. The developers need to ensure that their applications are responsive irrespective of various screen sizes and testers need to ensure that the application does not break if the resolution or screen size changes.
User satisfaction also becomes a key challenge. Having a huge user base will result in certain dissatisfaction from certain end users. The success of an application depends on the seamless user experience.
Summary!
In this topic, we have covered the best practices for testing out a mobile application. The key points come directly from a real-time testing perspective. If you can include these key points in your testing approach then mostly you will cover all the key aspects of Mobile application testing.
Subhanka Naskar