Key issues in mobile app testing

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Kerstin Knab is a senior IT consultant at Maiborn Wolff GmbH in Munich, Germany. She has more than 10 years of experience in complex software development and testing projects. She has acquired deep knowledge through projects in the telecommunications, finance and road pricing industries, particularly in the areas of mobile app testing , Quality Management , fault management, and test automation .

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Apps are essential for everyone who uses a smartphone or tablet. An app is developed for a specific environment. In the mobile context, it is often referred to as a mobile app. App technology has been known since 2007 when the iphone was commercially released. The launch of the Apple App Store opens up a new sales channel for the software app. Then, similar app stores for other operating systems, such as the Android Market, Nokia store, BlackBerry App World, Mac App Store, Samsung apps, and the Windows Phone market, were launched shortly afterwards. For a long time, people only focused on apps for personal use, but things have changed now. The commercial use of apps is becoming increasingly important. Businesses are using apps for finance, sales, marketing or internal communication. In addition, business or enterprise apps that can interact with back-end tools and mobile devices through Web services or cloud platforms are gaining market share. In this development process, the need for methodical quality management is increasing.

　　

This article will showcase the four major issues that mobile app testing must address and the basic requirements required. It also describes the integration of test methods in an Agile development model:
?? User Experience
?? Coverage of available mobile hardware
?? Connection
?? Safety

　　User Experience
The user experience is the key to the success of an app. App ratings in the App Store can reflect the user experience, with a bad comment on sales losses. So the user experience is an important issue in mobile app testing. Because the experience is subjective, it cannot be measured directly. But you need to know that you have to incorporate a good user experience into the key factors of success in your testing process.

The success factors for a good user experience include attractive design, positive interactivity, and usability. Based on these three points, you can draw the following three test criteria:

　　Coverage of available mobile hardware
The variety of mobile devices, especially Android, is increasing, and it is no longer possible to outline the mobile device market. Quality management is difficult because of inconsistencies in the size and status of the display, operating system versions, and basic device features. Also, device manufacturer's (Android) operating system devices are specifically customized and should be tested explicitly on the device. When testing, it is necessary to limit the devices that will be supported by the app. The system combination (Hardware/operating system) and backwards compatibility must be indicated. In order to maximize the coverage of the system mix, it is necessary to have a flexible strategy to perform the tests.

Variables are:
?? Emulator, Simulator
?? Beta test Network "field test"
?? Cloud mobile testing, such as Mob4hire, Testcloud
?? Crowdsourcing mobile testing, such as Perfectomobile, Soasta
These variables must be combined and given priority to the project background.

　　Connection
Connectivity is another big issue with mobile app testing. Ideally, the app's network connection will be implemented in a separate thread so that it doesn't interfere with each other. In addition, an app must respond appropriately to network outages, delays, changes, and weak signals.
If these responses are implemented by a warning or a caching mechanism, it should be indicated in the project context.

security
In addition to connectivity, security is another major issue.
Key points are:  
?? Authentication and authorization  
?? Data security  
?? Data allocation for offline mode  
?? File system, options, hardware, network resources, etc.  
Basically, an app's development is done in a sandbox, which enables or disables out-of-app resources. Depending on the operating system, access rights are programmable or predetermined in advance.   The
clearly identifies the appropriate test needs. The other side of the
Security test context is preventing illegal access through jailbreak (IOS) or "swipe" (Android).  
In addition to these four issues, mobile app testing also needs to consider some basic requirements.

basic requirements for mobile app testing
One requirement for app testing is a beta test environment. To do this, the operating system manufacturer either provides their own test environment, such as Testflight (IOS), or can use any of the commercial tools, such as HOCKEYAPP (Android). There are many test tools in the
Mobile app testing market.   The
differs in that the additional modules used to build the test set, such as Tosca Mobile, or stand-alone tools with standard interfaces.  
in the mobile context, test automation is an important factor. A well-known tool is Seetest (ios/android), Robotium (Android) and Monkeytalk (ios/android). All requirements must be tested in a methodical manner. Here I describe a method.

integration of test methods in Agile development mode
App is developed and tested based on the underlying software development model. Both the traditional and the agile models are more commonly used. The
Traditional software development model, like V-model, has the advantages of high planning reliability, standards, and ease of scalability and practicality. The disadvantage is that there is a high demand for documentation and necessary adjustments and lack of flexibility.
Instead, agile models have high flexibility, rapid system deployment, low file requirements, and are largely non-formal. The disadvantage is that time and budgeting are difficult, and there is a lot of communication work within the Agile team, especially for the individual abilities of the team members.
in short, the app was developed in a tense "time to market" cycle. Customization is done through continuous upgrade, which is basically the feedback result of the app user.
In this case, an agile development model has more advantages than the traditional model, so let's take a brief look at it here. The test work in the
Agile model can be divided into three main areas:
Each aspect is supported by an appropriate test method that conforms to the sprints (Scrum) schedule. When using agile mode, it is necessary to ensure that:
?? Clear what is done in a consistent
????????????? sprints Intelligently integrate with external service providers (crowd, beta-tester network)
?? Applying the Test experience gained in the process
Note: Not every project is the best solution for agile testing.
Traditional patterns are often a better approach, especially in projects with specific corporate issues that have a clear and detailed requirement or a tight budget and a defined time. However, if you use an Agile model it is necessary to continuously monitor the product backlog and adapt its baseline.

　　Summarize
Mobile app testing must consider a number of important issues that are user experience, available mobile hardware coverage, connectivity and security. The quality standard for a mobile app test project is the individual of each project, that is, the weight of the test standard varies greatly. Integrating testing into the underlying software development model is critical to a successful mobile app test project. Because of the tight schedule of mobile app projects, it is necessary to customize the test method, adjust the test scope and clear the test coverage. There must be a quick and flexible way to adapt to the adoption of app development determinants.

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Key issues in mobile app testing