Modern mobile phones have developed from basic communication tools to multipurpose devices that can do almost anything. Like online shopping, placing restaurant orders, calling a cab, and even finding basic directions. With mobile applications or simply mobile “Apps,” they can all be completed using a mobile phone.
Computers were the craze a while back. They changed how people learned and thought. Yet, mobile solutions are taking the industry by storm these days. Individuals prefer to use their portable devices to do chores quickly rather than turning on their laptops or PCs for everything.
Hence, the mobile solutions we provide to our clients must undergo extensive testing in the mobile device lab. This guide is meant for individuals who have recently transitioned to mobile testing or are currently involved. Since we have already created numerous tutorials on the definitions of terms connected to mobile testing, we will address the focus of this article.
What Is Mobile Application Testing?
Mobile app testing is an essential stage in the development procedure that ensures the app works as intended and gives consumers a flawless experience. Critical problems that include software failures, unsatisfactory user experiences, and security flaws can result in an outcome from inadequate testing.
The primary goal is to test the apps’ usability, stability, and operation is the primary goal. Every application created for portable devices must go through a method of mobile app testing to guarantee a particular quality standard. An application is tested before it is available in the App Store, the marketplace.
Why is Mobile App Testing important?
Users of mobile apps outnumber those of desktop apps. TestingTo provide high-quality apps, testing across a wider range of devices is required to provide high-quality apps. So, these applications depend on testing for mobile applications in the mobile device lab.
The reasons for mobile app testing are explained to users by the following points.
1. Issues with Script
Apps use various menu systems, keyboard layouts, and input methods. As a result, it is challenging to avoid using a single common script.
2. A rise in smartphone model numbers
There is a growing range of accessible smartphone devices with varying sizes and features accessible. It implies that more than ever before, apps need to work with a huge variety of smartphones. A comprehensive app testing procedure ensures that a particular app development is compatible with various devices in the mobile device lab.
3. Cross-OS interoperability
Android and iOS are the two main operating systems used by smartphones. An application must run well on both platforms. Mobile app testing can aid in ensuring the same.
4. Internet service providers
There are several active ISPs (internet service providers). For applications to be widely used, they must function properly with all operators. It isn’t reasonable to ask app users to switch ISPs to utilize the app. App testing facilitates the establishment of connectivity for various providers worldwide.
Types of App Testing
Testing mobile applications involves more than merely clicking on every screen and looking for errors. App testing comes in various forms. The parts that follow explain them.
- Automated Testing
Simply put, automated testing makes the process of a mobile app test automatic. The mobile device lab can be more focused on many repetitive activities. Such circumstances can benefit from automated testing.
- Faster mobile device lab testing with automation of complex processes
- Issue resolution is made simpler by integration with the current app build
Automated mobile app testing on cloud platforms like LambdaTest thus contributes to a more efficient, scalable, and comprehensive testing process, ultimately enhancing the quality and reliability of mobile applications.
LambdaTest is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform to run manual and automated tests at scale. The platform allows you to perform both real-time and automation testing across 3000+ environments and real mobile devices.
- Usability Testing
Usability testing evaluates an application’s ease of use and intuitiveness.
- It assists in finding bugs to enhance the user experience.
- It assists in discovering usability difficulties, like unclear navigation or layouts.
- Compatibility Testing
It is a non-functional testing method to verify that an application functions properly across various devices, operating systems, network settings, and internal hardware requirements.
- It confirms that the application functions on various hardware, screen sizes, and operating systems.
- Ensures the flexibility and responsiveness of the software.
- Performance Testing
Performance testing examines an application’s behavior or functionality under various loads.
- It assesses the application’s responsiveness, performance, and resource usage.
- It finds memory leaks, bottlenecks, and other problems with performance.
- Security Testing
Security testing puts the protection of user privacy first and examines how the mobile device lab behaves when given different permission requests from the device.
- Determines the flaws and vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit.
- Aids in protecting user data and shielding the application from dangers.
- Localization and Internationalization Testing
Ideally, as a location changes, the app should adapt as well. For instance, US users of YouTube might receive some location-based video recommendations.
- Verifies whether the app is compatible with many languages, cultures, and geographical areas.
- It confirms that date formats, money, and other local parameters are handled correctly.
Stages of Mobile App Testing
Testing from beginning to end is essential to operating mobile apps smoothly. The following procedures comprise effective end-to-end testing of mobile applications-
- Process Outlining
The first thing to do is to list every test that must be run for the mobile application. Make a test plan that includes all use cases users want to test, along with an explanation of the tests and the sprint’s anticipated outcome.
- Selecting an Automated or Manual Test Type
The next step is to select whether to execute a test manually or automatically. Tests may be mechanized-
- Tests must be created for various hardware, software, and screen sizes.
- For the Unit Testing
To maximize testing and expenses at this point, quality assurance personnel must specify the extent of manual versus automated testing.
- Preparation of test cases for user functionalities
After determining which testing type to employ, the first step in writing test cases for mobile applications is to define the cases. Here, two methods can be used-
- Business scenario-based Testing– This method evaluates the system from a business standpoint.
- Testing based on requirements– The effectiveness of particular app features is evaluated.
The kind of testing you wish to perform also affects how the test cases are defined. Two groups of application tests are separated:
- Functional Testing – It has Unit Testing, Integration Testing, System Testing, Interface Testing, Regression Testing, and Acceptance/Beta Testing.
- Non-functional Testing – Security testing, volume testing, performance testing, load testing, reliability testing, usability testing, compliance testing, and localization testing.
- Manual Testing
The Agile Testing framework recommends combining automated and manual testing for mobile apps to be tested efficiently. Upfront investments are not necessary for manual testing. Hence, it is advised to use exploratory testing to get a testing sprint started.
Maintain a consistent record of every testing session log in a Word or Excel document. The development team publishes a fresh build for testing every two weeks, and the testing team uses the QA environment to run their test cases.
- Automated Testing
As manual testing takes a lot of time, it cannot be used to handle the ever-increasing need for software testing. As an outcome, businesses rely on mobile automation frameworks to automate tests across various real devices. The automation team writes scripts for basic features and executes them to assess whether the new build is stable enough to be tested.
- Usability & Beta Testing
Performance testing establishes how responsive and reliable your application is under a certain workload. It has the following qualities beneath it-
- Load Testing- Testing the application’s load capacity under typical and exceptional circumstances.
- Stress testing- Verifies that the program functions as intended under excessive strain.
- Stability testing- Verifies that the program can function properly under typical loads for an extended time.
- Volume Testing- It examines how an application functions when exposed to large amounts of data.
- Concurrency Testing- It verifies the number of people who can utilize the program at once.
- Testing of Security
It evaluates the danger of viruses, app protection, hackers, and illegal access to private information.
- Complete testing before the publication of the final version
Developers do an end-to-end testing sprint once the mobile app has undergone all necessary testing to ensure it is suitable for uploading and functions as intended on the server and back end. Should any bugs be discovered in the application, they are resolved, and the entire sprint is carried out again. Developers deploy the program to App Stores if no significant defects are discovered.
Advantages of Automated Mobile App Testing on Cloud
Automated mobile app testing on the cloud, like LambdaTest, offers the following advantages:
- Device Coverage: LambdaTest provides access to a vast array of real mobile devices, allowing for comprehensive testing across different devices, screen sizes, and operating system versions. This ensures that mobile applications are thoroughly tested under diverse conditions.
- Parallel Execution: The ability to execute tests on multiple devices accelerates testing. This is crucial for reducing test execution time and supporting agile development practices.
- Cost-Efficiency: Leveraging cloud-based testing platforms eliminates the need to maintain an extensive physical device lab. This results in cost savings, as testing teams can access diverse real devices through the cloud.
- Scalability: LambdaTest offers scalability to accommodate varying testing needs. Whether testing a small-scale application or a large enterprise-level mobile solution, the platform can dynamically scale resources based on requirements.
- Collaboration and Accessibility: LambdaTest facilitates collaboration among testing teams by providing a centralized platform for executing and managing tests. Testers can access the platform from different locations, promoting accessibility and flexibility.
- Cross-Browser and Cross-Device Compatibility: Ensuring compatibility across different browsers and devices is simplified with LambdaTest. The platform’s diverse device library enables testers to validate the application’s performance on various configurations.
Conclusion
Quality assurance testers must ensure their programs are tested on various platforms, operating systems, networks, screen dimensions, memory configurations, and display types. Given that these testers know the difficulties and varieties of mobile testing, adhering to a few best practices is advisable to ensure that crucial elements are noticed during the testing process.
When it comes to mobile testing, scenarios like energy consumption, interrupt testing, testing on several networks (3G, Wi-Fi), testing while switching networks, testing with monkey software, etc, are all helpful. Testers ‘ attitudes are quite important when it comes to the actual testing environment.