Mobile Application Testing
Introduction:
Mobile app testing must include a wholesome plan which includes most of the target devices selected. It also involves an optimal blend of testing tools- both manual and automated.
Testing of mobile apps is the process which is critical and due importance should be given to it so that the apps are released in the market in a timely manner and meeting the budget needs.
Notes on Testing
In present scenario it is important that the solutions offered for mobile app testing provide for continuous integrated testing for both native applications as well as web based apps. This must also allow testers to create, modify, or execute tests in a jiffy. The testing solution must also provide plug-in for integrating into Jenkins, or integrate with a CI server as an ANT task. This would eventually deliver the test results in standard JUnitXML format back into the CI server. Companies can integrate their test product with a continuous integration server (for example CI), and consequently release incremental builds on same day. The automation would cover all the unit, functional, and performance tests.
As a tester, you must know what the app’s function is and whether it can perform the function it is intended to. You must also know how people are going to use it. It is said that testers usually subscribe to the outside of the box thinking methodology. They try out things differently, satisfying the “What if” and “Why” question in them diligently.
For example, mobile app testers often assume the thought process of different kinds of customers. This helps them don the avatar of different customers so they can analyze, think and execute tests form different scenarios. This experience can be quite enlightening!
About manual testing: It may be a laborious process involving many manhours making it quite expensive. It can also result in errors because of the human testing factor. Yet, manual testing serves an important purpose in that it provides a method for receiving valuable feedback on usability of the app. For mobile applications, usability (or call it friendliness!) is a very critical factor. Infact in many apps usability becomes the only unique selling proposition (USP). That being the case, it is quite difficult to envisage how user friendly your app is, if a human being is not interacting with it on a real mobile device.
Continuous Mobile Application Testing
How does one ensure continuous testing while development of the mobile app? How does one ensure the updates and enhancements are functioning correctly? Answer is fingers and eyeballs!
A plethora of apps and mobile devices into which these are lodged make it inevitable for the fingers and eyeballs method to be the only way testing apps, at least in the present situation. Manual testing must be conducted in the pre-release as well as post-release lifecycle of the app.
Disadvantages
Though it reeks of advantages, manual testing can also be testy for the following reasons:
- Drastically slows down the development process,
- It leaves a huge margin for error
Lowers confidence of developers in releasing quality software in a short amount of time.
Source by Anand Raju
