Boost Performance with Mobile App Testing

Mobile App Revolution Requires Mobile Testing Evolution

According to the website, Statista, the number of mobile devices in the US is expected to reach over 311 million by 2025. Currently, the US is leading with 298 million smartphone users. Connectivity in our personal lives and business is at a higher level than ever before which has led to the development of an entire segment for testing.

It’s hard to believe that when mobile phones first entered the market, users were impressed by a keyboard and the ability to get email. Today’s smartphone technology offers high-definition touch screens, high-speed internet access, GPS capabilities, and OTT streaming.

Our devices have become everything we need for business in or out of the office, and while there are a variety of devices and operating systems, IOS and Android are leading the market and setting the standards for app development.

Consistency and quality in mobile performance are just as vital as any other aspect of business, so we must understand what mobile Android and IOS testing methods entail. While the devices and apps have seen a revolution over the years, mobile testing has required an evolution to keep up.

If your company has a mobile strategy in place or even just a few users, it’s important not to overlook key mobile app testing criteria and the challenges that exist. Let’s have a look at the variables that lead to the success or the failure of your mobile strategy.

Success is in the Details of Development and App Testing

Let’s begin by recognizing that not all applications are running in the same way, so mobile app testing can vary depending on the platform. Apps can be categorized as follows:

• Native Apps: Apps developed for specific platforms. (iOS, Android, Windows 10 Mobile, and BlackBerry).
• Mobile Web Applications: Web pages opened on a mobile browser.
• Hybrid: A combination of mobile web app and Native Apps.

Based on those variables, you can see app development – and therefore app testing – is more complicated than it seems at first. And because mobile devices are more prevalent and more powerful, demand for performance is accelerating.

Our smartphones can be used for everything from project management, scheduling, and time tracking, to accounting, communications, and data storage. Mobile apps are developed to run businesses with efficiencies and productivity without fail which is asking a lot. So, when it comes to mobile app development, staying ahead of the curve on app testing is key.

Understanding how the app is meant to work and making sure the user environment is successful across all devices and systems is paramount to a company’s mobile app strategy success. Additionally, because faster to market is better, the testing process needs to be seamless – and executed early in the dev cycle – while ensuring that the user experience is fluid. If the experience produces even a single serious glitch, the app could fail to make the cut, and users will abandon it. Lowering your mobile app abandonment rate and increasing end-user satisfaction are the two most important components of mobile app testing.

Testing Mobile App Performance

Measuring performance on a smart device also presents challenges because it involves three components working together — the device itself, the server, and the network. To complicate things even further, poor performance on each of those components can be caused by even more variables.

For example, the speed of start-up, battery time, and memory consumption are all impacted by the device. The speed at which data can be processed and a reduced number of API calls is a direct result of the server function. Lastly, it is important to understand how apps interact with different networks and network properties. Network speed, packet loss, and jitters are common mobile app issues that should be analyzed and tested to ensure mobile performance.

While using a smartphone for business is often taken for granted, this conversation shows just how complicated it can be and how important mobile testing is in meeting those expectations.

How It’s Done and Who Can Do It?

How do you test a mobile app? It seems like a straightforward question, but as we have discussed, the answer is far from easy.

Whether you are testing an iPhone or a Samsung, the best mobile testing is done by expert engineers who have experience testing applications developed for different operating systems (IOS app testing vs. Android app testing). A combination of manual and automated testing to fast-track the mobile app testing process is also critical for a seamless and fast release time.

A thorough approach should consider the following:

• Agile development: Coordinating QA with your Agile process to maximize release velocity.
• Devices: Testing mobile apps on our array of devices, or your equipment.
• End-to-end verification: Ensure the app executes business processes as designed.
• Automating: Automated sanity checks and API call tests to ensure continued overall system integrity.
• Load testing: Load test back-end systems to ensure robust support for expected traffic loads and beyond.
• Robust test suites: Testing to ensure accurate processing for PDF and Office file formats.

QualityLogic’s approach is comprehensive and customized. Our senior QA engineers work directly with your development engineers to help create a strategy for mobile app testing processes that are aligned with the development of the applications. The focus includes:

• Sanity checks using code development environments and simulators.
• Tracking requirements to features and verifying that intended functionality is met.
• Verifying that controls, links, and formatting are present and adjustable for conformance to various platforms.

We also have a performance checklist that will ensure a complete evaluation before release.

1. User experience based on network conditions
2. Maximized mobile app capacity
3. RAM requirements
4. App speed and response time
5. Multiple users and connections
6. Failure or crash monitoring
7. Mobile API performance

Your mobile app testing company should work closely with their clients to determine the scope of work, specific needs, and deliverables as well as timeline. They should help you get mobile QA established, provide support and training, and augment your internal test capability on an as-needed basis.

Mobile Test Automation

Most app testing services will offer automation, but exercise caution as not all will meet the standards required. To meet the mobile industry’s need for device test automation, we’ve surveyed the broad range of test tools, frameworks, and cloud-based devices. This approach has provided us the knowledge to deliver and manage any mobile testing requirement.

While there are significant concerns involved with using real device automated testing, a strong mobile app testing partner can help steer your development group through those issues and provide insights into selecting and using the newest and most effective automation tools available.

Production QA Support for Mobile and IOS Testing

There’s no substitute for testing your app or site against the actual range of phones and tablets you support. QualityLogic has a device library of well over 700 devices and can provide mobile test strategies in the context of the overall operations including devices, servers, and networks.

• Test your mobile systems on our range of mobile devices and/or provide experienced staff to work with your equipment.
• Perform end-to-end tests to verify that, beyond the user interface, the app or site performs correctly as an integrated system and doesn’t disrupt other business processes.
• Load test your back-end systems directly to assure robust support for your expected traffic load and beyond.

All of our mobile app testing work is done in the U.S. to avoid time zone, language, and cultural barriers that might otherwise impact the speed of your app’s release. We define milestones and clear deliverables with ongoing testing and support as required by the scope of work.

So, whether your company has twelve or twelve million mobile users, we can help develop the mobile testing support you need to make sure applications are functioning, experiences are seamless, and productivity is high.

Call us today to see how we can help.

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