Discussing the Needs of Testing a Mobile App

At present, users have option to choose from millions of mobile apps available at various operating system-native stores. Likewise, many analysts even predict a manifold increase in the number of mobile app downloads in near future. The massive popularity of mobile apps encourages many enterprises and independent developers to launch new applications at regular intervals.

The businesses often invest time, efforts and funds to build mobile apps with out-of-box features. But no developers can make the mobile app popular in the longer run without incorporating quality assurance and testing into each stage of development and deployment. There are also a number of reasons why each business must test its mobile app thoroughly and repeatedly.

Why Each Business Must Test Its Mobile App Thoroughly and Repeatedly?

Cross-Platform Mobile App Development

At present, Android dominates the worldwide mobile operating system market. But many reports have highlighted that iOS applications are more profitable than Android apps. So many businesses nowadays make their apps available on multiple mobile platforms to reach more users and generate more revenue. The advanced tools like Xamarin have made it easier for developers to build the app for iOS, Android and Windows Phone using a single code base. But the business must get all aspect of the mobile app thoroughly to ensure that it runs seamlessly and delivers rich user experience on targeted platform.

Mobile Platform Fragmentation

Unlike iOS and Windows Phone, Android is an open source mobile operating system. Google allows hardware manufacturers to customize its mobile OS according to their specific needs. But a number of reports indicate that a large percentage of users do not use the latest version of Android operating system. So while developing mobile apps for Android, the developers have to consider different versions of Android. Likewise, the testers must perform a variety of tests to ensure that the app is compatible with different versions of Google’s mobile platform.

Each Mobile OS Powers Many Devices

Each mobile device nowadays powers a variety of devices. For instance, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch use iOS. Likewise, Android is used by different models of smartphones, tablets and phablets manufactured by various companies. Hence, it becomes essential for the business to assess the mobile app’s look, functionality, performance, usability, and user experience across many devices with varying screen size, orientation and resolutions. The testers can combine real devices and emulators to test a mobile app across a wide range of devices within a shorter amount of time.

Many Factors Affect the Application’s Performance

The performance of a mobile app determines its popularity in the longer run. A large percentage of users uninstall apps that are slow. But the performance of an app can be impacted by a number of factors. For instance, the performance of the app will be directly impacted by user’s choice of network. Each user has option to use the app with Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G connection. So the business needs to check how the application performs on each network. At the same time, it also needs to check if the user can access the application in offline mode. Likewise, the testers also need to check if the performance of the application is impacted by user’s offline activities like calls, text messages, notifications, and low battery. When a mobile app is tested in real-time environments, it becomes easier for the business to identify and repair these performance bottlenecks.

Security of Business and Customer Data

A steady increase is being noted in the number of organizations implementing bring your own device (BYOD) policy. So many businesses nowadays allow employees to access valuable business data on their mobile devices, each Business Must Focus Extensively on Mobile Security Testing. Likewise, they also use mobile apps as a tool to stay connected with the customers, and receive a variety of sensitive. That is why; it becomes essential for the business to ensure that the mobile app accepts, stores, and exchange all valuable data securely. The testers must perform elaborate security testing to identify and repair all data leaks. Likewise, they need to use advanced tools to check the app’s vulnerability to targeted malware attacks, and its behavior in the presence of malicious apps.

Focus on User Experience

Each mobile app nowadays needs to deliver rich user experience across many devices and platforms to keep the users engaged. Hence, user experience determines the application’s popularity and profitability in the longer run. Each business must test the application repeatedly and under different condition to ensure that it delivers richer experience to each user regardless of his mobile operating system and device. At the same time, the testers also need to test the functionality, performance and usability thoroughly to assess its user experience accurately.

On the whole, a business must deploy skilled QA professionals and invest in advanced mobile testing tools to get higher returns in the longer run. However, it also needs to implement a format testing strategy to ensure that each mobile app testing element is tested repeatedly and at the right time. For instance, the QA professionals must perform functional testing in the beginning to check if the application functions consistently and quickly, while meeting all business requirements.