mobile application testing
DESCRIPTION
Mobile Application Testing is an important task to be accomplished. There are many companies that will offer great services at great prices. MobilePundits is a company that will let you hire technical experts for your work.TRANSCRIPT
The Best of Mobile Application Testing
• Introduction
• Challenges faced in Mobile App Testing
• Mobile App Testing Strategy
• Mobile Testing Challenges for Native
Applications
• Mobile Testing Challenges for Web
Applications
• Devices are the Biggest Challenge for
Mobile Testing
• Right Activities at a Glance
• Types of Testing for a Mobile App
• Conclusion
• About Us
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Introduction
2010 has been a great year for mobile world. There were many new handset manufacturers
and mobile app developers in the market. Many of them have done exceptionally well and
changed the definition of Smartphones completely. More and more handheld users are
increasing for accessing business applications. There are expectations for better performance
with time from the devices. Performance is no longer an option, it has become mandatory for
businesses in order to ensure the performance of an app on all the major mobile platforms.
Along with the development, testing of mobile applications is quite challenging. Mobile app
testing is way more challenging than that of apps of standalone or web applications. iOS and
Android have been the most successful operating systems so far.
It is quite challenging to test and verify each and every application before releasing it for
public use. In today’s business environment, testing seems to be a cost-effective solution to
avoid any compromise on quality.
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Challenges Faced in Mobile App Testing
• Variation in Device
• Industry Standards
• Requirement for Skilled QA Experts in
Automation Testing
• Cloud Computing
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Variation In Device
• Mobile app testing becomes difficult because of many operating systems
and myriad devices. Compatibility is a major issue here because a mobile
application can be deployed across multiple devices. They differ in:
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• Mobile operating systems like
iOS, Android, BlackBerry,
Windows, Symbian, etc.
• Different versions of these
operating systems such as iOS
4.x, 5.x, BB 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, Android
2.0, 2.x, 3.x, 4.x, Windows 7,
Windows 8.
• Mobile manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, HTC, Nokia, BlackBerry, Sony, etc.
• The type of keypad : QWERTY, Touchpad, Virtual Keypad or Hard Keypad.
• Moreover, the Quality Assurance team does not guarantee if the device will work
successful or not on any given device. If it works 100% on one particular device, it
is not necessary that will work efficiently on another device also even if that
device belongs to the same product family because difference comes in the
screen size, screen resolution, CPU, Processor, Memory, OS Optimization, and
hardware.
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Industry Standards
Testing of mobile application must be performed according to certain
industry standards so that the applications can be accepted globally by
people using different mobile operating systems. This will help in making
the application popular.
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Requirement for Skilled QA Experts in Automation Testing
Every Quality team needs skilled quality
assurance specialist not only to evaluate the
automation tools that are present in the market
for application testing but also to quickly
recognize any bugs in the user interface as UI is
very critical in the mobile world. A well-
examined and fully functional mobile
application can be easily be rejected by end
users because of bad interface even though if it
is working perfectly.
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Cloud Computing
This technology offers a seamless web-
based environment for mobile on
simulators where the QA team can
deploy, automate and test any mobile
application. This approach of cloud
computing has really helped in reducing
the overall cost of a project under
development.
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Listed below are some of the most common problems that are faced
by the testers in an environment of cloud computing:
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•High-cost
•A Subscription Model
•Lock-in
•The Automation is time-consuming and image based
•Automation cannot be done outside the framework
Mobile Application Testing Strategy
• Device Emulator
• Mobile cloud Computing Services
• Real Times Devices with Real Networks
• Avoid Manual Work with Automation
Tools
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Think
• Research
• Strategy
• Plan
Create
• Design
• Development
• Testing
• Release
Rate
• Marketing
• Online Promotion
• Reputation
Perform
• Measure Usage
• User Interaction
• Improvements
• Evolution
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Plan Your Strategy!
Device Emulator
Quality Assurance experts can execute almost all of the testing in a
modern well-equipped testing environment with the help of
available device emulators with various options to choose from,
such as the capability to bypass the network, working on live
environment with the help of modems and usage of an effective
scripting language. This solution is highly cost-effective.
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Mobile cloud Computing Services
Mobile cloud Computing Services
The testing experts can efficiently make use of the environment of mobile cloud
computing for deploying and testing the application. Using this technique, we can
keep both the task and the data on the internet instead of keeping it on an
individual device. This is what brings on-demand access in vogue. Lowering down
the complexity of project implementation, organizations take the advantage of
services of cloud computing so as to reduce the development and testing cost and
boost the return on investment of a mobile software application solution. 16
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There are several advantages of using Cloud Computing Services:
• Globalize your workforce at very low costs
• Get more work done(more outputs) with less people in less amount of time
• No need to spend extra bucks on hardware, software or any licensing fees
• Keep an eye on the projects more effectively and efficiently
• Since you require less task force for completing your work, you will have to spend
less on giving personal training to people
• Change of direction without any serious “financial” or “people” at stake
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• Growth without any pressure of buying new licensed versions of the software
• Increase in volume output or productivity with lesser people. In short,
achievement of economies of scale
• Recording of device logs to help troubleshoot any issue
• Web-based user friendly interface
• Testing of incoming calls and text messages without the need of any extra
mobile plan
• Testing can be performed on more number of devices simultaneously
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Real Times Devices with Real Networks
It is quite natural that testing can be done against real networks. Real
devices can be used at real locations for performing testing. This is
something that the QA team just cannot avoid. Testing of real devices on
real networks should always be an option whenever needed. This thing
came into picture because every application will be used at different
locations by end users who might use it from a remote area with
inconsistent network signal strength.
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Remote real devices are capable of recording a test for
successive replay, which is quite helpful in regression testing.
This has reduced the travelling cost for testing for foreign
networks but demands additional hardware. As the number
of devices and mobile applications are increasing with time, it
has become tougher to purchase each and everything for
testing.
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Many organizations have put a foot forward and provide
paid services to other companies. You can now actually
“rent” testing time on a resource shared by others and
managed by you. Just open an account and purchase some
testing time with a given device when and wherever you
need it.
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Avoid Manual Work with Automation Tools
Automate whenever and wherever
possible! Remote and Emulators,
real time devices and solutions
which support playback
functionality and scripts help in
saving and allow execution of more
test cases with higher degree of
consistency.
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Any testing team must automate
the task of mobile software
applications so as to avoid any
manual task. This will not only
save cost but time as well. There
are many tools available in the
market for performing automation
tools.
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Mobile Testing Challenges for Native Applications
For many, “mobile application” means a
native or a hybrid application. These are
some commonly downloaded software
applications from the respective app stores.
The unique experience that they offer to
the users improves the capabilities of the
operating system and device for which they
are developed. The downloaded is often
monitored by the store, with mechanisms in
place to charge consumers.
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This simple mechanism has made native apps quite a hit in the recent
times. Apart from usage by normal consumers, they also enable
businesses to deliver high productivity to increasing workforce.
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Though native applications offer rich user experience to the users – and
plausible money spinning for the developers. Some complexity is added
to the lives of those who test it. Testing is meant to make sure that the
application can be successfully downloaded and executed on the device.
This is a common perplexity that if an application has been tested in one
device and network, it will work seamlessly on others as well. But this isn’t
true at all. This is what forces developers and testers to examine the
software application on different environments and device models across
all the operating systems.
For successfully completing the task, analysis of hardware is a must
because native apps rely completely on the hardware and OS. To meet the
challenges of the testing procedure, backward compatibility with each
older device you are expected to support must also be checked.
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Mobile Testing Challenges for Web Applications
Like any other website on internet, a
mobile web app is also viewed by
people around the world. Even when
you are targeting people from one
particular landscape or a network, it
will help you understand dynamics
of the world.
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Devices are the Biggest Challenge for Mobile Testing
The much obvious milestone to be crossed in the field of mobile testing!
There must be millions of devices around the world on which your
application will run and you cannot afford to fail to perform on any of
them. Almost all of them must be covered when examining your mobile
application. If you reduce the number of devices, there is a chance that
the particular software program might not run on that device, locking out
a number of potential customers.
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For handling this challenge of mobile testing, there are things you must
take care off: Exclusive examination using real devices, test exclusively
with emulated devices or a combination of both of them. It is not like that
you are limited to one choice, but it totally depends on the application for
which you are writing the code.
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Right Activities At A Glance
Testing
Requirement Analysis
Guidelines
Desirables
Ten Step Methodology
Field Testing
Regression Testing
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Initialization & Benchmarking
Network & connectivity
Testing
Application & Multimedia
Value Added Services
Field Testing
Types of Testing for a Mobile Application
• Usability Testing
• Compatibility Testing
• Interface Testing
• Services Testing
• Low Level Resource Testing
• Performance Testing
• Operational Testing
• Security Testing
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Usability Testing
This is the type of testing that
includes visibility of text in the
selected language, screen
navigation, verification of online
and offline functionality,
feedback from interaction with
the system, which means that
the download app should be
prompt with messages.
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Compatibility Testing
Compatibility testing means validation of
mobile application for myriad devices
keeping in mind all the major operating
systems, screen size and resolution as per
the demand of users, proofreading if the
integration server changes, editing of the
mobile app isolation with other software
apps on the device.
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Interface Testing
Following are the things that integration testing covers:
• Screens Resolution
• Buttons
• Text Inputs
• Navigation flow like Facebook, Twitter, Reviews, Bookmarks, etc.
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Service Testing
Validation of mobile software application not to behave as a server is
included in this type of testing. It even covers checking of a service which
can be used offline or takes too long or when a service goes down and
responds back with malformed responses.
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Low Level Resource Testing
Overuse of memory and not releasing is something that comes under low
level resource testing. It also checks if temporary files of the applications
are not cleaned, local database is growing too large. Low level testing will
also see the garbage generated by the mobile app.
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Performance Testing
Performance testing is something where
you will need to verify the server
connection of WIFI from 2G/3G or vice
versa, size of the shared images used by
the software code is in accordance with
the desired response time, optimization
of code with the CPU cycle,
consumption of battery, memory leaks,
certain resources like camera, GPS, etc.,
freed.
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Operational Testing
This type of testing checks for the
back-up of all the important
information in the application, save
and recovery plan if the battery goes
down, if the data of mobile app is
lost in the case of up-gradation from
respective app store, accessibility of
the app when user gets an alarm,
message, call, reminder, etc. and
power usage while accessing the
application.
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Security Testing
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Security Testing
Security testing will include the encryption
and decryption techniques used for
communication of sensitive data, checking of
multi-user support without any interference
of the data between them, and checking of
accessibility to files that are saved in the app
by any unintended users and detect areas
where tested application does not receive
any nasty content.
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Conclusion
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A substantial challenge and risk involved in the testing of a mobile application can
impact a lot on the production of mobile apps. Such risks and challenges involved in
adopting myriad testing procedures have been outlined above.
The many tools available present in the market for testing of software mobile
applications will not only help in testing but also offer a platform which enables
measurement of security and compatibility compliance. This is what helps in
application certification where required.
The advantage of testing these apps before the deployment in a live environment
cannot be stressed out. An app with bugs and errors will not only hurt the productivity
but reputation as well.
About Us
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MobilePundits is an ISO 9001:2008 certified by Bureau Veritas & UKAS,
assuring our clients with the highest level of satisfaction. We assure
minimum mobile application defects with our mobile app testing services.
For more than 8 years we have successfully offered comprehensive
outsourcing of mobile testing/Wireless Testing/Mobile Application Testing
Services. Highest degree of software quality assurance for iPhone/iPad,
BlackBerry and Android App Testing is our forte.
About Us
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