Testing is an integral part of every product – websites, mobile apps, consumer products, etc. After all, it is only via testing that we can detect flaws and major bugs that threaten information leak, malfunction or system crashes. With mobile apps, the competition is rigorous and thus the releases are often expedited, and the development timeframes are narrow. This most definitely leads to bugs and this is why testing is very much important in the context of mobile apps. Considering the statistics for the number of apps being available in the App Store and the number being submitted almost every day and not to mention the strict quality control in Apple, iOS app developers need to ensure proper mobile app testing before submitting their apps. We bring to you the top 5 mobile app testing practises in the industry that are recommended by experts and that have proven to be foolhardy over time.
Have a test strategy in place
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This is all about planning when to test, how to test and what guidelines to follow. Guidelines generally layout what needs to be tested and how and this ensures that whoever is testing is aware of hoe thoroughly the testing needs to be done and which testing methods to use and what the acceptable benchmarks are for testing. There are various different kinds of testing such as functional, performance, usability, security, crash, peer testing and so on. Your test strategy should emphasize on the purpose and nature of testing apart from laying out the testing tools, platforms and benchmarks to be used. In fact, employing peer testing is a great way to ensure competition and a challenging environment. This is particularly useful when it comes to UI/UX design and development.
Frequency of testing
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Testing an app frequently can help catch bugs in early stages of development. For instance, if testing is incorporated in early stages of UI/UX design, you can find bugs that could later prove to be very costly. Testing often and beginning it early is thus imperative to ensure the success of your mobile app. We also like to add that it isn’t just enough to test, it is also important to track the results of the test and ensure that the bugs don’t spill out into the later stages of development.
Testing on various platforms
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If you are developing an application that has cross platform capabilities, you have to test it across various operating systems and platforms and their combinations. While it may not be logistically feasible to test exhaustively across every platform and OS combination, we recommend that you set preferences and guidelines for testing so that you can ensure smooth operation of your app in devices and platforms of your choice.
Automation
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Automation testing is very important when it comes to mobile app testing and this can help reduce manual efforts and save time, money and labour for your team. Ensure that your team is skilled in the automation testing area and is conversant with various testing suites, platforms and tools.Automation ensures speed, cost reduction, reusability of test scripts and avoids manual errors such as omission of steps. Also, with automation, repeating isn’t painful as it is manual testing.
Using in-house scripts, testing on cloud frameworks and platforms can help improve your ROI while also helping you catch flaws and imperfections quickly. Tools such as Google code, Appium, Calabash and monkey talk are very popular in the automated mobile app testing area.
Security and battery testing
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iOS app developers have to perform diligent security testing and ensure that personal user data and sensitive info is well protected with their apps. Testing needs to lay emphasis on restricted permissions and ensure that only those permission that are required for the app’s functioning are being requested from the user. In today’s context with a lot of focus being on privacy and preventing information leak, it is imperative to perform this testing thoroughly.Battery testing is yet another crucial aspect of testing that often gets overlooked and if your app consumes too much battery power, users are hardly going to commend it! Testing on varied hardware, ensuring that there are no memory leaks and minimizing processing power should be high up on your testing parameters sheet. This will help your app get launched and minimize your any risks in the long run.
Author Bio:
PranayAgrawal is an entrepreneur, tech-enthusiast and the co-founder of MobileCoderz Technologies. He has helped many start-up’s build and execute their mobile strategies and has helped companies storm the mobile app market and revolutionize their business. PranayAgrawal occasionally dabbles in writing about technology, strategies for mobile app development and latest trends that are ruling the tech industry. You can find Pranay on LinkedIn.
