You have finalized your app idea, you have started development, and you are finally ready to release your app to the world. But what can you do to make sure that as many people as possible try out your app? You need to test it, right? You want to make sure that it will function correctly on all platforms and devices.
Testing an app has a very clear goal – finding bugs and performance issues, and reporting for immediate fixing. In other words, you are looking for issues that may cause your app to have low ratings. And automated testing is gaining wider acceptance in the early stages of app development. Integrations, screenshots, performance and visual are already being tested in a very early stage. And this is perfect as it allows to catch issues on a higher level.
Moreover, comprehensive testing can find bugs during the development process that can otherwise go undiscovered until late in the production phase. Test plans, designs, and development should be approached in the most organized, structured manner possible. Doing so allows extensive testing to occur early in the product life cycle.
Consider Hardware and Software before Mobile Application Development
Today it is no longer enough for testers to test a fully formed app or hardware. They have to think outside the box, to be able to perform testing in stages of development and to anticipate problems early on.
When it comes to software testing, it requires the ability to use a robust and scalable process and at the same time not waste time on repetitive tasks. It’s crucial to test your app throughout the development lifecycle. However, most developers don’t realize there are three main purposes of software testing. Each reason points to a specific type of testing and use of automation. The reasons vary from ensuring yourself you’re building the app correctly, uncovering bugs that prevent users from completing their tasks, and validating that your app works as expected with multiple operating systems and devices thus increasing user satisfaction.
Yes, both hardware and software can impact how your app performs. The fragmentation of the hardware today can make your app perform differently on devices with different chipsets and processors performing differently from one another.
Testing During Mobile Application Development Process
Most developers do not think of testing when they build the first version of their app. How many new apps can you name that are completely bug-free from the first version? Probably not a lot. There are likely a lot of problems you will encounter which will cause major headaches down the road if you haven’t done any initial testing. Let’s discuss what constitutes good Mobile App Testing and how to include it as a part of your app development process:
Automating Common Elements: Mobile app testing is essential when building mobile apps. Organizations that implement detailed and comprehensive test plans are successful in meeting their business and product requirements and consumer requirements. Many aspects of mobile app testing can be automated, including functional, performance, and user interface tests. Automated tests help to verify the integrity of software, which increases the extent and scope of testing, improving the quality and robustness of apps.
App Modifications during Development and Testing: When you begin adding features and functionality to your app, especially when it is new and not yet established, you are going to be modifying many parts of the app. Things like modifications of the code, user interface changes, and graphic design enhancements and so on. When you are making these types of changes to your app it’s generally difficult, if not impossible, to do without something breaking. There are just too many moving parts that you have to manually test against with every single release. This is where an automated testing strategy can be a huge benefit for your team.
When creating automated tests for your app all those test cases can be utilized for both manual and automated tests for future releases of the app as well. Whenever a new feature is added or modified in your app, all you will need to do is add it to the existing automation test suite for the application to automatically run through the same testing procedures as before. This will save you time, money, and effort in the long run by streamlining your testing process and reducing errors in production.
Partner with Testing Experts: Mobile App development is a complex undertaking and requires knowledge and experience. Partnering early on with a development team will help you meet your testing objectives on time and within budget.
Conduct round-the-clock testing: Automated testing is not just an option today; it is a requirement. If you plan to continue delivering new features in your mobile app, automated testing needs to be an essential part of your delivery process. Without it, the development will be slowed down by manual regression testing and the pipeline will be constantly hampered by the long wait between code changes and deployment.
Different Testing Types to Incorporate in Mobile App Development
Testing any form of software is essential, but mobile applications and products bring a new set of challenges and expectations to the table. Let us look at different testing methods for your mobile application:
Functional Testing: It is one of the most common approaches for software testing and quality assurance. It is a process used to define the scope and approach to validate that a product or service meets its requirements, satisfies user needs. It may include both manual and automated testing techniques. It also helps to check that the application possesses characteristics that are critical for its effective operation. The main approaches are: To identify test data, to describe expected outputs, run automated tests via the computer on actual devices and compare the results with the expected values.
Regression Testing: Regression testing is a testing strategy that ensures that the new features or changes in a mobile application have not broken any existing features or functionalities. It detects defects that were introduced or uncovered in the new release of a software product. This is achieved by use of a full range of tests that were used for the initial qualification of the new release. The difference between this type of test and its general definition is that the regression tests are not limited to functionality but include coverage of requirements specifications and non-functional requirements as well.
Localization Testing: Translation and localization testing for mobile applications is a crucial process when it comes to getting your app ready for the market. Especially for companies who wish to expand their products to cater to the global marketplace. A well-designed UI needs to be carefully checked by the testers in order to test the application thoroughly in each selected language. Because of the cost and nature of localization efforts, automated localization testing is beneficial for providing more localization coverage for less effort.
Performance and Stress Testing: Performance testing provides a complete test environment to assess the performance of a mobile application. It can help you compare actual user experience to the expected interaction, usually specified in terms of performance metrics. As mobile applications and systems move to cloud-based solutions and use more real-world data, stress tests will become indispensable for identifying inefficient algorithms and server architectures that negatively impact the user’s experience.
Performance and stress testing allows developers to see whether their application is capable of scaling up in the event of a sudden increase in traffic.
To Conclude:
As companies continue to innovate in the realm of mobile and tablet apps, providing the most user-friendly experience to the consumer remains a top priority. At XDuce you with an interactive approach to mobile application development and robust testing strategy tailored to your every need.