What is Mobile app testing
The mobile app testing undergoes evaluation for its functionality, usability, and performance on various devices, platforms, and operating systems. It ensures that the app meets the desired quality standards before it is released to users.
For successful mobile app testing, we need to test various screen resolutions, operating system versions, and network bandwidths. Mobile application testing increases the general efficiency of the application and increases the reliability factor among the users as well.
Why is mobile app testing important?
Mobile app testing is an important step in the development process . Users ensure a high-quality mobile experience and detect issues. Below are some reasons why mobile app testing is important .
- Improved functionality : Improved functionality in mobile app testing helps identify and fix technical issues, ensuring the app functions as expected.
- Better user experience : Detect usability issues and enable developers to make necessary changes for enhancing user experience.
- Cost-saving: Early detection of issues in the app helps reduce development costs.
- Increased user engagement: Increased user engagement in mobile app testing is a measure of how users interact with an app, including the depth and quality of their interactions.
- Competitive edge: An app that provides a seamless user experience can gain a competitive edge in the market, leading to business growth.
Types of Mobile Apps
Three types categorize mobile apps.
- Mobile Web Apps : Mobile devices can run web applications using only a web browser installed on them. They can work on any mobile operating system or mobile device. An app store isn’t required for this app to be downloaded. They are also called Progressive Web Apps.
- Native apps : A specific device or operating system, such as iOS or Android, is the intended platform for the development of a native app as a software program. Examples of native applications range from navigation programs, such as Waze, to social apps, such as Twitter, or games.
- Hybrid apps :Native containers deploy hybrid apps, which are a combination of native and mobile web apps. It Built using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and then wrapped in a native app shell. Multiple platforms can be used for it.
Types of Mobile Application Testing
Currently, there are close to five million mobile apps, and the number is increasing with every passing day. The mobile app marketplace is crowded and highly competitive, resulting in intense competition. Smartphone users prefer to use mobile applications that pass the test of quality, security, and usability. Different Types of mobile application testing are,
Functional Testing
In functional testing, we ensure that all features and functions of the mobile application work as intended without any flaws. The primary goal is to ensure that all features and functionalities of the mobile application work correctly, and the app provides the expected results in various use cases. Key tests include unit testing, system testing, UI testing, integration testing, and regression testing.
Usability Testing
Another type of mobile testing is usability Testing , which checks whether the application is easy to use for end users. Usability testing is a mobile testing type that evaluates the user-friendliness of a mobile application by focusing on the overall user experience, ease of navigation, and design clarity
Compatibility testing
Compatibility testing is a type of non-functional testing. The application functions correctly across a wide range of operating systems, devices, networks, hardware, and browsers. This type of testing is essential because mobile applications need to perform seamlessly on a wide range of devices with varying specifications and software versions.
Security testing
This is a type of mobile testing that aims to uncover vulnerabilities, risks, Potential threats and weaknesses in a mobile application. It involves testing for issues like data leakage, encryption failures, insecure storage, and potential threats from malware or hackers.
Performance testing
Performance in mobile is a critical aspect of app development. It involves assessing how well an app performs under various conditions, including different network speeds, device types, and user loads. Load testing, Stress testing, Spike testing are the types of performance testing.
Speed testing
Speed testing is a type of performance testing that measures the speed of a mobile application. It can help identify issues and optimize performance. This helps to ensure that the app performs well and is usable by users. Blaze Meter, Apache JMeter are some tools for used for speed testing.
Manual testing
Mobile apps undergo manual testing when test cases are executed by human testers, without the aid of automation tools. The primary focus of manual testing is on the experience of the user. While automated tests are beneficial for regression and repetitive tasks, manual testing remains critical for exploring new features, verifying usability, and identifying real-world issues that automated tests may overlook.
Automation testing
Automation testing mainly helps integrate and align the existing workflows, manage test automation framework, test runs and setup, review and validate defects and test result. Mobile applications undergo testing through the use of automation, during which software tools execute pre-scripted tests. This approach is time-saved, human error is reduced, and accuracy is improved when compared to manual testing.
Regression testing
The mobile app development process involves regression testing as a critical step. This testing identifies and rectifies bugs that surface after modifying the application code. Regression testing is testing existing software applications to make sure that a change or addition hasn’t broken any existing functionality.
Integration and system testing
Integration testing in mobile app testing focuses on verifying that different modules or components of an application work together seamlessly. Once integration testing ensures that all components are working together, system testing focuses on validating the complete and integrated mobile app as a whole. This type of testing checks the app’s functionality and behavior in an environment similar to real-world conditions
Challenges of mobile app testing
Main challenges of mobile app testing are,
Device fragmentation
Major challenges in mobile app development arise from the vast diversity of mobile devices, as they fragment the market. Operating systems, screen sizes, and hardware configurations vary greatly, posing significant hurdles .These factors cause mobile apps to have varying requirements for consistent performance, compatibility, and user experience across all devices.
Network conditions
Network condition is the another major challenge , which affect the app performance. Mobile users frequently encounter connectivity fluctuations as they transition between Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G, and signal-free areas. Addressing these conditions requires careful planning to ensure a reliable and smooth user experience, regardless of network quality.
Battery consumption
Users frequently uninstall mobile apps that excessively drain batteries, as this behavior frustrates them. Delivering a positive user experience relies on efficient energy usage, especially for apps with high resource demands such as GPS, camera, or frequent network access.
Security and privacy
Security and privacy are critical challenges in mobile app development because mobile devices often contain sensitive personal data, including contact information, location, payment details, and access to various online accounts.
App performance
Performance of mobile apps should be tested under varying user loads. The app’s ability to handle different data sets, server connections, and usage patterns is a challenge to ensure. The unique challenges to mobile app performance arise from hardware and connectivity constraints, user expectations, and the requirement to support diverse devices
Continuous testing and automation
In mobile app development, quality, stability, and quick releases are ensured through continuous testing and automation. However, mobile apps bring their own set of challenges to continuous testing and automation due to device diversity, network dependency, and platform differences.
Best Practices For Mobile Testing
Mobile app testing is crucial for delivering a high-quality user experience. Here are some best practices to ensure thorough and efficient testing.
Select a Proper Device to Test
Devices for testing a mobile app are critically selected to ensure compatibility, performance, and usability across the range of devices that users are likely to use. When choosing devices to test a mobile application, Firstly you can consider things like, OS version, model , resolution , screen size, CPU, memory etc..
Know your App
Before you start the app testing, you must understand its functionality and system architecture. Consult the documentation and understand the business ideas and app architecture. This will help you identify the basic defects. This is essential for delivering a quality experience if one has a comprehensive understanding of an app’s purpose, functionality, audience, and performance expectations.
Consider Usability and UI Testing
Usability & UI testing are very important in Mobile app. Mobile app usability testing is the process of evaluating a mobile application to determine how easy and efficient it is for users to accomplish their desired tasks. UI testing means ,which Ensure the app has a smooth and error-free user interface.
Functional Testing Is Important
Mobile app functional testing is crucial for ensuring that mobile applications work as intended and provide a positive user experience across various devices .Make sure that you have covered all the specifications and have performed compatibility tests for the different platforms. The mobile app undergoes functional testing to ensure it behaves reliably and provides a bug-free user experience.
Concern for the Real Environments
When using a mobile app for testing, it’s essential that you consider the real environments where the app will be employed. which includes , Network conditions, Interruption’s (like SMS, calls , low battery ) , GPS, Time zones, Sound and notifications.
Run Performance-Based Tests
The app developers must take into account the following factors while testing mobile apps like battery , disk space , processing power. Hence, running a performance test at the early stage can help detect all the possible performance issues.
Combine Manual Testing with Automation Testing
For Combining manual and automated testing is a good way to maximize efficiency and save time and money when testing mobile apps. Both approaches have their strengths used, ensuring comprehensive test coverage, faster development cycles, and improved app quality. Manual testing allows exploring new features and scenarios, while automation ensures stability and reliability .
Keep a Tab on the OSs and Their Latest Upgrades
It is very important for mobile app developers to keep track of operating system (OS) upgrades and test their apps with them .Frequent updates to iOS and Android keep your app compatible, optimized, and free of bugs across all supported versions.
Refine and Optimize
Your mobile app undergoes constant refining and optimization to ensure smooth operation, efficient performance, and optimal user experience. This practice involves improving both the app’s functionality and user interface, addressing performance bottlenecks, reducing bugs, and enhancing overall usability. Testers can apply A/B testing to determine which options end customers prefer and base final choices on the results.
Conclusion
Mobile app testing is a crucial phase in the development lifecycle that ensures your app delivers a seamless, reliable, and enjoyable experience to users across a variety of devices, platforms, and environments. Developing a successful mobile app is not simple, and the best practices in mobile app testing naturally evolve over time.Users expect mobile apps to meet high standards. Developers can ensure this by following best practices in mobile app testing.
