Mobile Testing Introduction With the declining prices of mobile devices, it is not surprising to see a large number of people are opting for high-end devices. The advantage of the new set is, of course its functionalities. Users can engage in a number of activities, which was initially only possible from a PC or a laptop. As per a recent survey, it has been found that 80% of the internet users own a Smartphone. So, applications that are created will also have a rising number of users. Product companies that are planning to release new applications ought to benefit from this new wave of increasing usages. But are those applications performing seamlessly on multiple platforms and devices? In order to compete in the global market, ability to function on a multitude of smart devices as well as platforms like Windows, MAC, e-readers and others is necessary. This calls for a strategy known as mobile testing in the IT world. The increasing usage of mobile devices have sky rocketed the demand of mobile testers. Companies have realized that success of their native, web or hybrid application doesn’t rely only on one platform rather it must work on others too and without any discrepancies. Hence, both manual and automated testing is implemented to launch a flexible application. What is Mobile Testing? Frustrating GUI, confusing UX or a series of incessantly slow API can lead to a tragic demise of any application. The approach is understandable because the product companies want to capture the market before others, but gambling with time and quantity over care and quality has never given successful result. So, to remain competitive in a fast-paced market, mastering the art of mobile testing has become increasingly important for any company. The core process comprises of analysing and suggesting changes on the basis of the functionality, performance, usability, accessibility, security, instructional design of the application. The categories include: 1) Testing for learning content on e-readers 2) Testing for BFSI specific applications on smart phones 3) Testing enterprise level deployment of devices 4) Testing common end user applications on devices
The trained testers have to be well-researched and must know the methodologies to test apps built with latest mobile and web technologies including HTML 5, CSS 3. Apart from these, test cases based on the Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) must also be implemented to eliminate every possible error.
Before implementing the mobile testing strategies, it is necessary to plan out what devices should be covered. The average performance time of the application should be decided taking into account the product's time and cost constraints. Challenges of Mobile Testing Launching an application in the market that can be accessed by all the mobile devices is, undoubtedly a great feeling because it elucidates success of the product. But the major challenge that testers have to face is the increasing number of operating systems along with different versions, multiple devices, multiple carriers, varying speeds of data transference, multiple screen sizes, multiple controls of inputs and of course multiple technologies. Even if all those aspects are taken care of, what comes next is the kind of the app- native, web or hybrid. Each of this type of application is built differently. Apart from these, here are 4 other challenges that mobile testers have to face: 1) Device Fragmentation 2) Data Consumption 3) Processing Power and Battery Life 4) Touch screen UX and GUI
Approach to Handle Challenges Even if these challenges have turned out to be a regular phenomenon for almost all the testers, it is necessary to acknowledge techniques. But the question is, can there is a single full proof technique to test for an application? To answer this, the testers have categorized device testing into 3 heads. This is based on the number of users using the device under test. 1) Low Level- This includes devices, which are used by small number of users that can
even be the out-dated ones. In order to test on such devices, HIG level test process is executed. 2)
High Level- This includes devices that are new in the market and the users are not many because of its high price or lack of availability in the market. Testers usually opt for HIG and a set of chosen important test processes for this level.
3) Full Pass- The devices in this category are widely used across the globe and are latest
in the market. The testers execute every level of testing processes like the HIG, minor, major and even critical ones. Now, to decide the best strategy, a mobile tester has to understand the device and adopt one that suits requirement. For instance, both manual and automated testing has its share
of advantages. If a tester needs to check the representation of the application in number of devices, manual testing becomes the chosen technique. It helps to understand the acceptance, usability and accessibility of the end user. The automated testing technique is implemented when the testers are working under pre-defined constraints like time and resource, and yet they have to achieve a desired level of test coverage. But on some circumstance, the team of testers applies both the techniques to get clear result about the application. Apart from this, there are a bunch of mobile testing tools to support the overall testing process. But these cannot substitute the solutions tester receives through manual or automated process. Future of Mobile Testing With so many mobile devices penetrating into market at every juncture, it may not be possible to find a one-size-fits-all testing solution. But it is important for an app development company to have a trained pool of mobile testers with not just functional testing but also usability testing experiences. A tester can even combine various methods but ignoring mobile testing can be extremely detrimental. The demand of apps will continue to grow and it will be more powerful and more complex with time. But the credibility of the developer will continue to depend on the functionality and performance of the application on multiple platforms and devices, which further makes the need of mobile testing obligatory.