Mobile app testing is a relatively new field and so it’s still undergoing changes. This is why many companies are still struggling to put in place a comprehensive mobile application testing strategy. With this blog, we bring out the 4 main challenges to mobile application testing and suggest mobile application testing strategies to tackle those challenges.
Delivering a positive experience to the consumers from your mobile application can help elevate your brand. On the flip side, a buggy application can do permanent damage to your brand. Releasing your application without proper testing is like jumping off a cliff without a parachute. No one wants to use buggy applications. Chances are you won’t even hear from your customers again if you provide them with buggy applications.
Challenges in Mobile App Testing
A lot of Devices
The number of new devices & manufacturers has gone over the roof. Different mobile devices are flooding the market. Every mobile app developer wants to support as many devices as possible, but it’s a huge challenge to satisfactorily test the app on each of the devices.
Operating Systems
Different OS varies greatly in their processing speed and memory size, so even if your device’s response time and overall performance on one OS are great, it won’t be the case when you use another. This is also a never-ending challenge because new operating systems are entering the market (like FirefoxOS). There is a need to ascertain app performance in each of the operating environments.
Network
There are over 400 mobile network operators in the world. The majority of mobile applications depend on network connectivity to work and it significantly affects mobile applications. Testing on all the possible networks is physically impossible.
Short release cycle
Unlike web applications which generally have annual releases, mobile application versions have a much shorter release cycle. Each of these versions needs to be tested properly prior to release. Following the whole manual testing exercise each time a new version is inefficient and ineffective. The problem is further extenuated with agile development, continuous delivery, and DevOps increasing in prominence.
Mobile App Testing strategies to tackle the above challenges
A lot of Devices
Testing on many devices adds greatly to the time and cost spent on testing. The best possible solution to this is to use emulators and simulators to run automated tests during the initial phase and include testing with a variety of physical devices prior to release.
Operating Systems
The best possible solution to this is to use tools that are flexible and can stand the test of the ever-shifting mobile development landscape. Choose a framework that allows for testing on a variety of platforms and languages; this also gives you the flexibility to evolve continually.
Network
Use any network simulation tools available, and test mobile apps against bandwidth limitations, network speeds, connection dropouts, and more. These network simulation offerings add exceptional value to the testing activities.
Short release cycle
We believe Automated Mobile Application Testing is the best solution!
Automated testing can give developers the power to develop faster and more easily. The mobile marketplace is changing much faster than the web marketplace, and so developers need a way to continue to make changes and improvements to their apps as easily as possible.
With Automated Testing, the speed of testing is much higher when compared to the slow and costly process of manual testing. Automated testing will complete the tasks in minutes which can take hours if you do manual testing.
Verifying application compatibility with newly released operating systems becomes easy when we use Automated Testing. Also, if you use a cloud testing platform, you can scale your testing to fit your needs without the lead time needed to increase your local infrastructure.
Another advantage automated testing provides is cost savings. Manual testing is expensive, but using automated testing can reduce your cost while increasing your testing capabilities.
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