The aim of developing any mobile application is to offer a unique and innovative app experience. However, there are certain essential steps that need to be followed between conceptualizing the idea for your app and creating the final mobile application.
As outlined in our step-by-step mobile application testing process, it is crucial to identify and address any conflicting requirements before finalizing the development phase. The choices you make regarding functionality, compatibility, and data have long-term consequences if they are not handled intentionally.
What Is Mobile Application Testing?
Mobile application testing ensures that an app works properly and meets the functional, usability, and performance requirements of the end users. In today’s digital age, mobile apps provide customers with extensive utilities, and organizations can leverage them to improve their business prospects.
The global mobile application market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13.4% and reach USD 565.40 billion by 2030. Developing a flawless mobile experience allows companies to satisfy customers, increase engagement, and take advantage of the potential market landscape.
To become digitally ready, it’s crucial not to overlook mobile app testing. Imagine a health tracking app displaying inaccurate metrics or a fintech app failing to protect users’ data. Malfunctions like these can have a negative impact on both the individuals and the enterprises. Therefore, it’s essential to build a robust mobile app testing strategy, especially since mobile apps are more ubiquitous than ever.
Why Do You Need a Solid Mobile Testing Strategy?
A solid mobile testing strategy is essential for ensuring the quality of your mobile application to deliver a positive user experience every single time. Here are some reasons why you need a solid mobile testing strategy:
1. Mobile devices have different hardware and software configurations, so testing on various devices and platforms is crucial to ensure that the app works as expected.
2. Users have high expectations for mobile apps and expect them to work seamlessly, so thorough testing is necessary to identify and fix any issues before release.
3. Mobile apps are updated frequently, and each update must be thoroughly tested to ensure compatibility with various devices, operating systems, and other apps.
4. Poorly tested mobile apps can lead to negative reviews and ratings, resulting in a loss of users and revenue.
5. Testing early and often in the development cycle can help identify and fix issues early on, reducing the cost offixing them later in the process.
Overall, a solid mobile testing strategy helps ensure the quality of the app, meets user expectations, and avoids negative consequences such as poor reviews and loss of revenue.
Steps To Build a Mobile Testing Strategy
Building an effective mobile testing strategy requires careful planning and consideration of various factors. Here are some steps that can help:
1. Understand the requirements: The first step in building an effective mobile testing strategy is to understand therequirements of the application. This includes the functional requirements, performance requirements, and other non-functional requirements.
2. Define the testing approach: Once you understand the requirements, define the testing approach. This includes determining the types of testing to be done, such as functional testing, performance testing, security testing, and usability testing.
3. Select the testing tools: After defining the testing approach, select the testing tools that best suit your needs. There are many testing tools available for mobile applications, such as Appium, Calabash, and Robotium.
4. Define the testing environment: The testing environment should be designed to simulate the real-world conditions in which the application will be used. This includes the hardware, operating system, and network conditions.
5. Develop test cases: Develop test cases that cover all the requirements of the application. Test cases should be designed to validate the functionality of the application, as well as its performance, security, and usability.
6. Execute the tests: Once the test cases are developed, execute them on the testing environment. The results of the tests should be recorded and analyzed to identify any defects.
7. Continuous testing: Mobile applications are constantly evolving, so it is important to establish a continuous testing process. This involves regularly testing the application after each new release or update.
8. Collaborate and communicate: Collaboration and communication are key to building an effective mobile testing strategy. Ensure that all stakeholders are involved in the testing process and that there is clear communication throughout the testing cycle.
By following these steps, you can build an effective mobile testing strategy that ensures that your application meets the requirements of your users and performs well in the market.
Different Types Of Effective Mobile App Testing Strategies
There are several types of effective mobile app testing strategies, including:
1. Manual Testing: Manual testing involves human testers using the mobile application and testing all its features and functionalities manually. This approach is time-consuming and requires a large team of testers, however, this method ensures thorough testing of the app.
2. Automated Testing: Automated testing involves using software tools to test the mobile application automatically. This approach is faster and more efficient than manual testing, but it requires expertise in scripting and coding.
3. Performance Testing: Performance testing involves testing the app’s performance under different conditions, such as varying network speeds and server loads. This approach ensures that the app performs well under different scenarios.
4. Security Testing: Security testing involves testing the app’s security features to ensure that the app is safe from security breaches and data theft.
5. Usability Testing: Usability testing involves testing the app’s user interface and user experience to ensure that the app is user-friendly and easy to use.
6. Compatibility Testing: Compatibility testing involves testing the app’s compatibility with different mobile devices, operating systems, and screen sizes.
7. Regression Testing: Regression testing involves testing the app after each update or change to ensure that it is still working correctly and that the new changes have not affected the app’s existing features.
8. Cross-platform testing: Customers anticipate apps to operate consistently regardless of their operating system (OS) version. Although iOS and Android are the two predominant mobile operating systems in the market, their differences in programming languages necessitate teams to modify their testing approach to ensure cross-platform compatibility for their apps.
9. Functional testing: To ensure high retention rates, it is important to verify that every feature of the app is functioning accurately. This is achieved through functional testing, which tests the UI elements, screen adaptation, core structures, and functions of the app. It also covers the installation and update processes, localization settings, compatibility, and accessibility of the application.
10. UI and UX testing: A seamless UX design can lead to a significant increase in customer conversion rates of up to 400%. The success of an application largely depends on the user experience it offers, i.e., how end users perceive and interact with the application. Usability testing is conducted to ensure that the app is user-friendly and easy to navigate, with the ultimate objective of providing a smooth and intuitive mobile experience.
A combination of these testing strategies can help ensure that the mobile app is thoroughly tested and meets the requirements and expectations of the users.
Final Thoughts
A well-crafted mobile app testing strategy document with a futuristic view is crucial in driving the team towards the common goal of delivering high quality apps that continue to surprise the users with its performance time and again. This strategy acts as an anchor for a ship, steering it in the right direction and ensuring that it reaches its destination safely and smoothly. Therefore, having a detailed and well-thought-out mobile app testing strategy is of utmost importance.
