5 Aspects to Consider When Testing Mobile Apps

Sauce AI for Test Authoring: Move from intent to performance in mo.|xBack to ResourcesBlogPosted December 15, 2016

5 Aspects to Consider When Testing Mobile Apps

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Time equals money in nearly every concern – and this is particularly true for package and mobile app development. Products are released in progressively shorter cycles, which requires the package dev lifecycle to be perfectly optimise for CI/CD. Continuous testing plays a crucial role in every release rhythm, that ’ s why it ’ s powerfully commend to have a sound testing strategy in place. We ’ ve lean 5 aspects of apps that need to be considered when make a comprehensive mobile testing strategy.

The 5 aspects we will be looking at are operations, functionality, structure, program, and data security. Each and every one of them is a different angle from which apps can be tested. The idea behind this construction is to start with the general prospect that concern most of the devices, then dive into the aspect relate to the nucleus functionality of the app.

  1. Operations


The first aspect we will look at is “ operations ”, which concerns everything that interacts with the phone from the outside and how your app reacts in response. There are two main groups:

  1. Connectivity

  2. Interruptions

Connectivity

This is everything that has to do with the mobile/wifi network or a lack of wifi/mobile network connectivity:

  • What happens if the nomadic gimmick doesn ’ t have any signal? Or the signal is intermittent?

  • What happens if the mobile device is in “ airplane ” fashion?

  • What happens when the signal substitution from LTE to 3G or to WiFi?

Interruptions

Interruptions are mostly notifications that disturb the user ’ s activity on the app. Those commonly include:

  • Former app telling

  • Battery status notification (battery amply bill, low battery notification, etc)

  • Incoming phone calls

  • Text messages

  • Forced system update

How will the app be affected when one of these case happen?

  1. Functionality


This aspect applies to what the app does, what core functionality it command to work right, and how it is implemented.

Turn on services

Does your app necessitate WiFi or GPS to be switch on? Does it ask the device to switch on sensors? If not, what might be the cause?

Non-designed tasks

What happens if a user execute an action that the app wasn ’ t designed to handle? Will the action make it crash? Can it be prevented?

UI

Is your app UI friendly? Did you apply diligence standards and best practices for your UI pattern to ensure end-user satisfaction?

Redirection

Does your app redirect to the web? Does it countenance file downloads from a web source so you ’ ll be airt to a web page – how do it interact with the browser app?

Does your web page redirect to your app?

  1. Structure


Here we are touch to the device surroundings, i.e. can users successfully download the app onto their phones? Sometimes you can see apps in the app store that can not be downloaded due to commonwealth restriction and device compatibility.

What should the app work with?

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Is your app compatible with the device program you are targeting? Is it compatible with specific OS versions that could be scarper on a exploiter ’ s gimmick at any afford clip?

Both questions are real important.

For example: if you enable the download of your app for Android starting from 4.1.1 you will necessitate to create sure the functionality works with all the Android OS versions from KitKat onwards. Same go for browsers – if it interacts with browsers, you will need to try on all the oftentimes used browsers in your quarry market.

Updates

Another number for developer are “ updates ” coming from the app and from the device.

  • What occur if the app is updated? Are there cached file that might infringe with the new version?

  • What bechance if the device OS gets update? Does your app already support the new version? Will it work on the manufacturer ’ s ’ specific OS edition?

SD Card

Device storage infinite is restrain, so with Android devices, apps, and their data are oftentimes stored on SD cards. This is also a scenario that needs some consideration:

  • What happens if the app is store on the SD card and the latter become removed?

  • What happens if the SD card is full?

  1. Mobile device


Mobile device have two main components: hardware and package, both of them slightly different in every twist. So what is important to evaluate hither is what the mobile devices fling and what ironware and software elements the app depends on.

Mobile features

  • Does the app use specific package features/functionality? Also, what if the slightly different producer ’ s version has a variation of that one feature your app depends on?

  • Does your app depend on either mobile network or WiFi?

  • Does it interface with the UI aright? Here you will need to check if the keyboard opens when there is an input field; Is the audio being pushed through the headphone if they are connected?

Device Settings

Most of the applications use twist hardware and can tap into device background. To be able to access your contact list, start the camera or switch on the GPS, you will ask to give the app permission. When you first download an app there is ordinarily a list of license it asks for to be able to use it right.

  • What does the app interact with?

  • What permission do it need to act right?

App Store

The app store is the first interaction a exploiter has with any app. There needs to be a good description usable, as well as a transparent overview of the license that the app requires. What user information will it need to work and how will this data be used?

There should also be a user guide uncommitted and a FAQ section. The users need to be capable to see that their comments are being valued and direct into consideration.

This is not strictly connected to the app caliber but it has great importance for the product ’ s lifecycle and growth strategy.

  1. Data security


Data security remains a hot subject in the mobile industry. Security and privacy are the principal topics of every IT discussion. So what data does your app save, collect, operation, and send? What data does it ask to act dependably?

Tracking & amp; update

Time:

  • In your email/post/social media time stamp, what time will be written there? Is it your telephone ’ or the servers ’?

Purchases:

  • Does it ask the exploiter to log into their bank account?

  • Does it promote the user to a web page with extra security to finalize the purchase?

Reward points:

  • Can the user use the app to accumulate points?

  • Does it act offline?

  • Are the user ’ s shop information and user position saved?

Contacts:

  • Does the app need access to the exploiter contact lean?

  • What does it need the access for?

  • Does the app connect to Facebook and ask for your ally ’ s inclination?

Files

  • When file are saved to the twist, does the app have accession to the device storage? Can it say user ’ s file?

  • Is the exploiter direct to a web page in the browser to download their files? Is the data then exposed/endangered?

  • How big is the file?

  • Can the user open the file with just the device ’ s imagination?

Conclusion

Testing is ensuring the caliber of an app. Proper essay strategies will need to be created around it, occupy into consideration the lineament of the app itself and the ironware of the device used. The query above will help you look at your product from a more holistic perspective and create the best potential try strategy, concentrating on core functionalities.

Published:
Dec 15, 2016
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