In today’s crowded app market where it’s so easy to find another option, an app functioning smoothly is make-or-break for keeping users interested and eager to return.
Apps that zip along quickly no matter the device or its software, without glitches or slowdowns, give people a no-hassle experience they appreciate amidst their busy lives.
To hit this standard of performance, thoughtful testing plans for mobile apps are a must. If you are just about to start learning about testing, and you need help, visit https://www.lambdatest.com/online-device-farm.
Here are some of the best strategies you can use to test a mobile app.
Early Involvement of QA
Bringing testing pros into the process right from the start is a savvy choice that can hugely improve how well a mobile app works.
With Quality Assurance (QA) teams lending their expertise early, potential problems get caught and dealt with sooner rather than further down the line.
Having keen testers scan for small problems before they can grow lets you dodge a ton of extra, unnecessary work down the line. No one wants to redo large parts of an app because issues were left to fester.
Working closely together builds a common ground and vision among everyone involved – from those spearheading the work to the everyday users it’s meant to serve. This clarity around what truly matters is key to:
- Developers
- Designers
- Product managers
Frequent catch-ups and group sessions between those building the app and testing pros help everyone get on the same page. This smoothes cooperation between teams and encourages open communication.
As a result, issues get spotted and solved quicker, leading to a much calmer, more organized development process overall.
With testers chiming in from the very beginning, comprehensive test plans aligned with what the app aims to do and how well it should work come together naturally.
Taking a proactive approach helps uncover risks nice and early, which ensures the app is constructed on rock-solid foundations.
Early tester involvement facilitates continuous checking throughout development, which is absolutely crucial for agile making where changes come fast and frequently. This human-centered style keeps things running smoothly.
Cross-Platform Testing
Testing apps on different types of phones is incredibly important nowadays since people use all sorts of devices.
Ensuring an app works just as well no matter what someone uses requires a well-thought-out plan.
One key part is making sure to test on a variety of phones. It involves considering things like screen sizes, picture quality, what the phone can do, and different versions of its operating system software.
Testing on a good mix of phones helps spot any issues that might come up when using certain phones.
It’s best to use real phones for testing, not just computer simulations of phones since that shows much more accurately how the app will perform for real people in the real world.
While simulations can be useful early on for debugging, they often don’t perfectly mimic how a real phone acts – especially when it comes to:
- Speed
- Battery use
- Internet access
Therefore, using some real phones and some simulated phones gives the most complete picture.
Making sure everything from the app’s functions to its look and feel work the same no matter the phone or its software is another important part.
Automated testing tools can help streamline testing across many phones and operating systems at once, saving time and effort.
Functional Testing
Functional testing is a cornerstone of mobile app testing, focusing on verifying that the app’s features and functionalities work as intended.
The process begins with identifying the key functionalities of the app, which involves understanding the core purpose of the app and the essential features that users will interact with.
Once the key functionalities are identified, creating extensive test cases and scenarios is the next step.
These test cases should cover all possible user interactions, including edge cases and negative scenarios, to ensure that the app behaves correctly under all conditions.
Testing across different platforms is crucial for functional testing, especially for apps that are available as:
- Native
- Hybrid
- Web apps
Native apps, built specifically for a single platform, require testing on various versions of the operating system and device models.
Hybrid apps, which combine web and native components, need to be tested for their seamless integration and performance across different environments.
UX/UI Testing
Testing how easy and enjoyable the app is to use is extremely important.
User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) testing focuses on whether people can get what they need from the app simply and whether they like using it.
It’s crucial because a poor UX/UI will frustrate folks, reduce how often they open the app, and potentially cause the app to fail altogether.
Making sure navigation works well is key. It involves confirming people can easily find their way around the app to get tasks done through clear, logical paths.
Readability of text, appropriate font sizes, and enough contrast for all – like those with sight issues – to read comfortably is another big factor.
Layout and design testing confirms visual elements are nicely arranged, pleasing to look at, and consistent across different screens and phones.
Security Testing
Checking for potential security issues is a must for testing mobile apps, to spot and fix any weaknesses that could be taken advantage of by criminals.
Ensuring security is more important than ever with how common cyber threats have become and because apps often hold sensitive personal information.
The app’s setup and how attackers may try to get in is the first step. It involves analyzing what the app does, the data it works with, and how it connects to other services.
Common ways crooks might strike include:
- Unprotected stored data
- Weak login processes
- Insecure network communication
- Vulnerabilities in third-party tools and connections
It’s crucial to have multiple layers of protection. It involves robust secure login and access controls, encrypting data both on the device and in transit, and keeping all app parts up to date patched.
Trying to hack the app from a criminal’s point of view is a very useful approach.
Network Connectivity Testing
Checking how apps work with different internet connections is important because people use them in all kinds of places with varying signal strengths.
Testing on connection types like old-fashioned dial-up, fast LTE, and Wi-Fi helps ensure the app runs well no matter what’s available.
Experiencing the app under varied speeds and network situations is key. It involves simulating slow connections, intermittent signals, and switches between Wi-Fi and phone data to see how the app handles things.
For example, users may flip between home Wi-Fi and cell service while actively using the app – it needs to smoothly transition without glitches or a bad experience.
Making sure the app keeps chugging along during interruptions or when moving between weak and strong signal zones is another big part.
Tests what happens if the connection drops then comes back, or the user walks somewhere with poor reception – it should maintain its state and keep functioning without crashes or lost data.
