Is your mobile application sluggish and unresponsive? Does it freeze at awkward times? Which can leave your users frustrated and ready to jump ship? Today, providing an unexceptional customer experience is the need of the hour. So, ensuring a seamless performing application is the lifeline of your success. Imagine your users are on the verge of purchasing your application. But suddenly, it stumbles and crashes.
What happens next? Your customers not only lose trust, but they also doubt your reliability. It is precisely when you risk losing a customer and countless referrals.
So, what is the answer? What are the ways to retain customers? Well, the obvious answer is through rigorous testing. However, there are better solutions than manual testing for fast-evolving software development. Automation testing is helpful in this situation. The development process is sped up, and uniformity. At the same time, it guarantees a flawless experience for your user. The realm of automated testing can be intimidating, though. You will be able to comprehend the mysteries needed to succeed in this sector with the aid of this thorough guide.
What is mobile app automation testing?
Using specialized mobile testing tools, it is the automated testing of mobile applications. The technological tools enable testing teams to assess various aspects of the app. It ensures that the app performs seamlessly across platforms and devices.
It is essential to consider the type of software you are testing before beginning the actual test. Each style has distinctive qualities and functions. Thus, a customized solution is needed.
Thus, automation testing streamlines the process and enhances efficiency. It also helps identify and rectify the issues in the early development stage.
Different Types Of Mobile Testing
A QA professional requires diverse skills and techniques for uncovering defects. QA automation company need to test the application across various environments and scenarios. Here are a few essential mobile testing types that QA professionals must be familiar with:
Functional Testing: This test ensures that the application is functioning as intended. It is essential for providing unparalleled customer experience by satisfying their requirements.
Compatibility Testing: This non-functional test ensures the seamless functionality of the app. It tests the app across operating systems, devices, and network conditions.
Usability Testing: This software testing evaluates the application’s usability and intuitiveness. It aids in problem-solving so that the user experience can be improved.
Performance Testing: This test evaluates the app’s behavior under specific loads. It also determines the application’s responsiveness and efficiency.
Security Testing: As the name suggests, it prioritizes the protection of user data and examines the app’s behavior when requesting various device permissions.
Exploratory Testing: This testing thoroughly explores the app’s functionalities and usability. It helps in uncovering the critical errors within the application.
Storage Testing: This app automated testing evaluates how the app handles storage-related functions, which include data storage, retrieval, and deletion. It is helpful, especially under low or no storage conditions.
Interrupt Testing: Daily, a mobile user encounters various push notifications. Through this testing, testers analyze these disruptions for UI issues and app crashes.
Input Testing: This tests the various actions performed on the mobile device during app testing. It includes multi-finger gestures, voice inputs, and sensor inputs.
Top Mobile Automated Testing Tools
Here’s a brief overview of some prominent mobile automation testing tools and the frameworks they align with:
Selenium
Selenium is a widely used automation tool that supports testing web applications, including mobile web apps. It integrates well with frameworks like TestNG and JUnit.
Appium
Appium is a versatile open-source tool tailored explicitly for automating mobile applications, both native and hybrid, on various platforms (iOS, Android). It aligns with Selenium and is compatible with Java, Python, and JavaScript.
XCUITest
XCUITest is Apple’s native testing framework for iOS applications. It’s particularly efficient for automating tests on iOS devices and integrates seamlessly with Xcode.
Espresso
Espresso is Google’s native testing framework for Android applications. It’s optimized for Android testing and pairs well with Android Studio.
Robot Framework
Robot Framework is an open-source automation framework that is highly extensible and supports mobile automation using libraries like AppiumLibrary and SeleniumLibrary.
When selecting the right mobile automation testing tool, consider factors such as the platform (iOS, Android), the type of mobile application (native, hybrid, web), your team’s familiarity with programming languages, and the level of support and community resources available. This informed decision will facilitate efficient test script creation and contribute to the success of your mobile testing automation endeavors.
5 Steps Guide to Mobile Testing Automation
Step 1: Establish Mobile Automation Testing Goals
Mobile application testing is a crucial phase in app development. It verifies whether the app can handle unforeseen scenarios. Start by clearly defining your testing objectives. It may include the tests you want to automate, e.g., functional or performance.
Next, decide how far your automation efforts will extend. For this, you must specify the mobile devices, platforms, and app versions you will target.
Step 2: Test Case Planning
Effective test case planning is paramount for successful automation testing. It ensures a smooth and efficient automation process. Thereby saving time and resources for the business. However, with the ever-increasing complexity of mobile applications. Planning becomes the cornerstone of an effective testing strategy.
It helps testers define clear objectives and identify critical test scenarios. Meticulous planning allows comprehensive test coverage. Test Case Planning ensures your app functions flawlessly across various platforms. So, pay attention to its significance and invest in it for robust mobile testing automation.
Step 3: Choose a Test Automation Framework
A poorly chosen framework can lead to difficulties in scripting and debugging. Consequently, it severely affects the ongoing test maintenance activities. So, organizations should invest time in selecting the most suitable framework.
They must ensure that it aligns with their testing goals and application requirements. Automation testing becomes a powerful tool with the proper framework, improving software quality and accelerating release cycles. Finally, it leads to enhanced customer satisfaction and business success.
Step 4: Choose the Appropriate Mobile Automation Testing Tool
Mobile automation testing tools are pivotal in crafting test scripts. The right tool ensures that the app is reliable and bug-free. It also improves user satisfaction. However, selecting the best tool from the pool of tools can take time and effort.
Businesses must consider factors like platform, cost, and compatibility. The testing team’s skill set is another essential consideration. Making the wrong decision leads to wasted resources and causes the app’s instability.
Step 5: Execute Tests on Virtual and Physical Mobile Devices
Executing tests on virtual and physical mobile devices ensures reliability and functionality. Virtual devices offer cost-effective and scalable testing options. At the same time, physical devices provide real-world insights. However, physical devices are indispensable because they replicate real user experiences more accurately.
Refer To The Mobile Testing Automation Checklist
When embarking on automation testing, adhering to a well-structured checklist is crucial. It is essential for ensuring the high quality of mobile apps. However, depending on the application, specific needs could change. Incorporating this comprehensive checklist will allow you to test your application thoroughly. Thereby ensuring the app’s reliability and performance. Effective testing also saves time and resources and enhances user satisfaction.
An all-encompassing framework for efficient automated testing is provided by the list that follows:
1. Test Environment Preparation
- Define the target devices, operating systems, and network configurations for testing.
- Create the hardware and software setup for the automation test environment.
- Install essential tools such as the testing framework and mobile device emulator.
2. Test Case Preparation
- Identify critical app functionalities and use cases.
- Create comprehensive test cases that cover positive, negative, and edge scenarios.
- Prepare necessary test data to support test case execution.
3. Test Script Development
- Create test scripts with a scripting language appropriate for the selected testing framework.
- Ensure test scripts are reusable and maintainable.
- Utilize reusable functions and modules to streamline script development.
4. Test Execution
- Execute test scripts on the designated devices, operating systems, and network configurations.
- Record test results, flagging any failures or issues.
- Check the application’s functionality and performance on multiple hardware and OS versions.
5. Test Result Analysis
- Analyzing automated testing results pinpoint the causes of failures and issues.
- Report and track defects and discrepancies identified during testing.
- Check the quality of the application and recommend improvements or further testing.
6. Test Maintenance
- Review and update test cases, scripts, and data as necessary regularly.
- Keep the environment and tools for automation testing up to date.
- Re-run the test suite after each release or significant change. It will help in maintaining the application quality and detect regressions.
Challenges Faced By QA Teams While Testing Mobile Applications
According to a recent report, several companies and their teams encounter various challenges when conducting mobile application testing. These issues may impact the effectiveness and quality of mobile apps. Here are a few of the main challenges:
Time Constraints
About 18% of Automation testing Companies mentioned facing time constraints regarding mobile app testing. Meeting tight development and release schedules can lead to insufficient testing, potentially resulting in undiscovered issues.
Device Fragmentation
The proliferation of Android and iOS devices, each with various configurations and screen sizes, poses a significant challenge. Testing teams must address compatibility issues and ensure that apps function seamlessly across different operating systems and device versions.
Large Number of Mobile Devices
The global smartphone user base is vast, with an estimated 6.92 billion users in 2023. It challenges testing teams to ensure their apps run as expected on most devices.
Lack of Adequate Mobile Testing Tools
Approximately 65% of surveyed automation companies reported needing the appropriate mobile testing tools. This tool deficiency can hinder the ability to test mobile apps and ensure their reliability effectively.
Device-Specific Features
New Android and iOS devices often come equipped with unique features and specifications. Testing the same functionality across all devices can be challenging, requiring accommodating these variations.
Browser Fragmentation
Mobile apps may also operate within mobile browsers. Addressing browser fragmentation is crucial, as different users may employ various browsers and devices with different screen sizes and resolutions.
Shortage of Real Devices
Over half of the QA automation companies (52%) noted they could not access real mobile devices for testing. Testing on real devices is essential to simulate real-world user experiences and identify device-specific issues.
Security Concerns
Mobile security risks are rising, with 40% of global devices susceptible to cyberattacks. QA teams play a crucial role in identifying and mitigating issues. However, addressing these challenges requires suitable tools, comprehensive testing strategies, and a proactive approach to ensure mobile apps meet user expectations and security standards.
Final Words
With the aid of mobile technologies, our daily lives are increasingly entangled. Its versatile utility becomes more and more evident as it develops. People employ mobile devices for various purposes, including entertainment and online shopping.
However, the ubiquity of mobile technology means competition is fierce. This intense competition creates a challenging environment where even the slightest flaw can be detrimental. Thus, mobile app automated testing becomes not only necessary but essential.
AutomationQA