The Importance of Mobile App Testing

From basic communication tools to shopping to cab booking, mobile phones have evolved into all-purpose devices. Mobile applications keep us connected, entertain us, and help us manage our daily activities, which clearly indicates our dependence on these applications.

To ensure that these apps consistently perform well for all users, regardless of the device or network, programmers must focus on providing a uniform experience across all devices and operating systems, and hence they must undergo mobile app testing.

In this post, we will go over the importance of mobile testing and some recommended best practices for large-scale mobile app testing. Let us begin now.

1. What is Mobile App Testing?

Mobile app testing is a process that all applications designed for small devices must undergo to ensure they meet a certain level of quality. Before an application is released on the App Store, it undergoes testing. Any issues discovered during this process are reported to the development team for prompt resolution, preventing them from impacting the application’s performance after launch.

On several operating systems, the App Store is known by different names. For all Google or Android-based devices, the App Store is referred to as the Play Store for instance. On iOS devices, it is the App Store.

Here is what a Quora user says about mobile app testing.

2. Benefits of Mobile App Testing

Mobile app testing is a crucial part of the development process, and testers ensure that it’s done right. Knowing the advantages of mobile app testing can help you initiate this important process without missing any opportunities. The following lists some benefits of mobile app testing:

2.1 Ensure User Interface (UI)/ User Experience (UX) Usability

App testing allows testers to assess programs from the end-user’s perspective. By modeling normal user behavior and assessing the app’s appearance and functionality, they evaluate the usability and user-friendliness. Through mobile app testing on various devices and screen sizes, testers identify any logical flow and navigation issues. This clarifies the UI/UX usability of the mobile app.

2.2 Proper Functioning

The goal of QA is to ensure that an app runs without errors. QAs verify whether an application meets specific performance criteria —that is, different load circumstances, changing networks, etc. Every QA team chooses for itself whether it will be testing using emulators or actual devices. 

When choosing between these two, you should not put all your bets on one card. In the early phases of app development, simulators can be very helpful; however, before release, it is important to consider actual devices to ensure the flawless performance of your app. Based on experience, the best approach is to combine both methods and incorporate a device cloud for testing.

2.3 Reduced Development Costs

Early in the development process, catching and correcting errors is less expensive than addressing them after the final product is released. Proper testing saves companies both time and money in the long term by identifying and fixing issues before they become significant problems.

2.4 Prompt Bug Identification

Many mobile apps are prone to bugs, which can compromise performance and lead to losses. Bug discovery often occurs in the later phases of mobile development, potentially resulting in time and data losses. One of the key advantages of mobile application testing is the increased likelihood of promptly identifying and avoiding errors that could compromise functionality.

Businesses can suffer significant losses due to late bug discovery or the inability to detect issues early. A small coding mistake can undermine all your hard work put into designing and developing a mobile app. Such errors can ultimately have a damaging impact on performance.

Mobile application testing addresses this issue through its approach. Early bug identification, facilitated by automated mobile testing, ensures the development of bug-free mobile applications. As a result of thorough testing, bugs are fixed quickly.

Automated mobile testing, unlike manual testing, can help you identify the source of bugs. With this kind of data, businesses can rapidly spot preventive strategies to stop similar bugs from reappearing. For an enterprise, having a robust testing system is crucial for early identification and prevention of issues that could disrupt the functionality of your mobile application.

2.5 Faster App Deployment

Using the Agile development method, automated testing helps to provide quick app development that produces amazing outcomes and raises the return on investment. Automation testing shortens the life cycle of app development, therefore enabling faster app launch.

3. Types of Mobile App Testing

You can run different types of mobile app tests to ensure that the developed product meets the necessary quality standards and functions up to expectations. They comprise availability, scalability, utility, and security.

Let’s discuss a few of them:

3.1 Functional Testing

Functional testing is about assessing the features and functionalities of an application to ensure they perform as intended. Throughout all the user flows, testers examine essential features to identify and fix any unintentional functional flaws that may arise during the software development process.

3.2 Performance Testing

Performance testing allows testers to evaluate how mobile apps perform under high stress and in a low or unavailable internet environment. It ensures that the apps operate as expected in demanding circumstances. This type of testing enables simple analysis of the load time, battery and memory consumption, speed of data transmission, and recovery capacity of the software.

3.3 Exploratory Testing

The exploratory testing makes scaling and automation more challenging. Still, finding original problems depends on it. One can incorporate it with other testing approaches in an orderly approach.

Here is what a Twitter user says about Exploratory testing.

3.4 Security Testing

Another key type of mobile app testing aimed at identifying and addressing application vulnerabilities is security testing. The app should be able to survive any unplanned failures and various types of attacks.

3.5 Usability Testing

In terms of how easy and natural something is to use, usability testing, also called user experience testing, goes further than functional testing. It emphasizes on trying to replicate the actual experience of a client using the app to locate locations where they could get caught or struggle to use the app as intended, or just generally have an unpleasant experience.

4. How to Perform Mobile App Testing

A thorough, step-by-step testing method is essential to ensure that all of the app’s features, usefulness, and security meet the required standards before it can be released. Let’s go into more depth about this all-encompassing process:

4.1 Preparation and Strategy Formulation

The first step is to make a plan for the testing, which includes working out what needs to be done, which devices will be tested, what kind of app will be tested, and what cases need to be run. At this point, you need to decide whether the tests will be done manually or automatically. Automation is helpful for tests that need to be run on multiple devices, tests with known results, and unit testing.

4.2 Identification of Essential Testing Types

To ensure that the mobile app functions correctly on all Android and iOS devices, it is tested manually, automatically, and in the cloud. This method helps find bugs and ensure the app does what it’s supposed to do.

4.3 Design of Test Script and Test Case

Test cases, which are lists of steps to follow for testing a specific app, are very important to the process. Test scripts are used for automated testing, while test cases are used for manual testing. These are made based on the events in the mobile game.

4.4 Setup of Testing Environment

The codes and devices used to test mobile apps constitute the testing environment. The setup of this environment depends on the specific app being tested. Properly configuring the test environment is important for the functional testing process to go well.

4.5 Manual and Automated Testing

Both manual and automated tests are used to check the app’s main features. This step is crucial for identifying bugs and fixing them so that the application works better.

4.6 Usability and User Interface Testing

Usability testing is conducted on the app to ensure it is user-friendly, beneficial, and meets users’ needs. UI testing makes sure that the app has a simple, easy-to-understand layout that users can easily use and explore.

4.7 Compatibility Testing

Make sure that the app works perfectly on all mobile devices, computer screens, and operating systems.

4.8 Performance Testing

Testing how well the app works by switching between 2G, 3G, and WIFI connections, sharing files, checking battery life, and so on.

4.9 Security Testing

The goal of security testing is to see how safe your app is. It also looks at the risk of app hackers, viruses, app security, and getting private data without permission.

4.10 Usability and Beta Testing

Usability testing and beta testing are important components of mobile app testing because they help find bugs that are difficult to detect before the app is released to the market. To get responses from real users, you can start usability testing while the site is still being designed. It lets writers show off possible features and cut down on the list of ones that users have already dismissed.

Once the mobile app is ready, beta testing is done so that coders can get feedback before it is released to the public.

4.11 Feedback Integration and Iterative Testing

Feedback integration and ongoing software testing are beneficial for both mobile and real devices. These options, like others, can have an effect on both your automated and manual testing teams by providing new perspectives on user experiences and insights regarding your product. Additionally, this feedback can be used as part of your overall strategy.

4.12 End-to-End Testing Before Final Release

Once all the testing steps are done, an end-to-end testing sprint is carried out to make sure the server and backend of the app work as planned. If any problems are found, they are fixed, and the end-to-end run can be done again.

The rise of smartphones and the apps that go with them has sped up the digital revolution, which has changed our world in ways we are only now starting to understand. However, to make sure these mobile apps reach their full potential, thorough mobile app testing is essential but often overlooked.

5. Challenges In Mobile Testing

It’s not easy to test mobile apps. It requires a lot of time and work to test apps on all devices. This part of the mobile app testing lesson is all about the problems and challenges that testers might run into while they are testing mobile apps.

5.1 Different Data Connections

We all know that mobile devices connect to various network speeds (3G, 4G, 5G, etc.) based on their WiFi and location. The users should test their apps through different network conditions to make sure they work properly, even on slow or unstable connections.

5.2 Device Fragmentation

Device fragmentation means that there are a lot of different gadgets on the market at any given time. The number of devices that are running an app at any given time keeps going up every year. The testing teams are in charge of making sure that their apps work on a variety of browsers and running systems, such as iOS and Android devices.

5.3 Constant OS Updates

Operating systems undergo upgrades all the time, especially when it comes to phones. Each update can bring about changes that affect how well an app works and could cause bugs or problems with other apps.

5.4 Resource Availability

Native mobile app testing requires a significant investment of time, devices, and occasionally, human resources. This can put a lot of stress on smaller development teams.

5.5 Varied Network Conditions

Individuals can access apps over different types of networks, such as 3G, 4G, and high-speed Wi-Fi. It can be hard to make sure that the app works perfectly in these situations.

5.6 Adding Third-Party Features

A lot of apps use features that come with devices, like SMS, or third-party services for things like tracking and reporting crashes. The testers should make sure that these services work well with their apps. This job could add to the work that needs to be done to test the mobile app properly.

6. Best Practices for Mobile Application Testing

You now know about the difficulties and types of testing that are carried out. Here are some best practices that your QA team can use to make sure that the testing process doesn’t miss any important details.

• Before you start trying mobile apps, you should make sure you fully understand how they work. It will assist you in creating proper test cases and ensure that test coverage metrics are met.
• Before you start the test, you should have a clear testing plan that includes goals, scope, and methods. Running the test with each test process in the chain will be helpful.
• Real devices are the best way to test your mobile app because they make it easy to find bugs that you might not be able to see on apps and models.
• In mobile app testing, testing for user experience is very important. You should be careful when checking the app’s accessibility, ease of use, and speed to make sure it works well for everyone.
• You need to ensure the mobile app works properly in real-time by testing it in various places, with different time zones, varied network circumstances, and on low battery alerts.
• Apps for phones should still work properly after the OS is updated. So testers must keep watching out for updates and make sure the app stays up to date so it works right.
• A test-driven development method should be used to test mobile apps early and often. It makes sure that tests are run early on and at different points in the project so that an effective mobile app can be developed.
• Automation can make testing a lot easier and take a lot less time. To make sure your app works well on all devices, you should use automatic testing tools to check its features and speed.

7. Conclusion

Mobile phones are now an important part of everyone’s daily life. Its many uses become clearer as it grows. A lot of different types of people use it for shopping, entertainment, and other things. Because of this, it is a very competitive setting where even the smallest mistake in your application can cost you. This makes testing mobile apps very important.

To sum up, testing mobile apps is an important part of creating them. By discovering the different types of mobile apps, testing methods, and best practices, you can make sure that your app works well and gives users a great experience. Working with professionals like TatvaSoft can help your mobile app be even better and more reliable. This will help it do well in the very competitive app market. 

FAQ

1. How do I manually test an app?

Follow these steps to manually test an app:

• Make a concise plan.
• Test on several different devices and settings.
• Pick challenging-to-understand use cases.
• Use exploratory and ad hoc testing.
• Keep track of the results of the testing. 

2. What is the best tool for mobile testing?

These are some of the tools you can consider for mobile app testing:

• Espresso
• XCUI Test
• Robotium
• Flutter
• Robot Framework