Mobile App Testing Archives

Tools and Trends: Mobile App Performance Testing

Vihar Rana — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 10:15:55 +0000

In this fast-paced dynamic world, waiting can be detrimental and bothersome to many, especially in the world of technology.

If a customer’s demands are not met on time, he/she will jump ship to the next service. Hence, when it comes to mobile apps and their performance, it is noteworthy to have a quick-functioning one.

However, a customer abandoning the app due to performance issues has been a more common phenomenon than you might realize.

On the brighter side, there are multiple tools available at your disposal to improve the quality of your app when it comes to performance and speed.

This article will focus on not just the tools required to do so, but also the common issues that hinder an app’s performance. To ensure that your mobile app works seamlessly and smoothly, let’s take a look at the fundamentals of mobile app performance testing.

Fundamentals of Mobile App Performance Testing

Mobile app performance testing is the examination of your mobile app based on its functionality under multiple scenarios.

Based on multiple elements such as scalability speed, responsiveness, and stability, the app is tested under different traffic levels and loads.

It is of utmost importance that you put your app through a performance test so that it can function the way you expect it to under multiple circumstances.

KPIs, Key Metrics & Considerations for Performance Testing

Evaluating the results of the performance once the app has been tested can be done efficiently by looking at the key performance indicators that are given below:

Response Time:

Metric: The time it takes for the app to respond to user interactions.

Importance: Low response time contributes to a seamless user experience, preventing frustration.

Load Time:

Metric: The duration it takes for the app to load initially or switch between screens.

Importance: Faster load times enhance user engagement and satisfaction.

Resource Utilization:

Metric: Monitoring CPU, memory, and battery usage during app operation.

Importance: Efficient resource management ensures optimal device performance and longer battery life.

Network Latency:

Metric: Evaluating delays in data transmission between the app and servers.

Importance: Minimizing network latency enhances real-time functionality and overall responsiveness.

Scalability:

Metric: Assessing how well the app performs as the user base and data load increase.

Importance: Ensuring the app can handle growth without sacrificing performance.

Error Rates:

Metric: Monitoring the frequency of app crashes, freezes, or other malfunctions.

Importance: Reducing error rates is crucial for providing a stable and reliable user experience.

Security Testing:

Metric: Identifying vulnerabilities and ensuring data protection measures are effective.

Importance: Protecting user data and maintaining the app’s integrity is critical for trust and compliance.

User Satisfaction:

Metric: Gathering user feedback through surveys, ratings, and reviews.

Importance: The ultimate goal is to create an app that meets user expectations and delivers a positive experience.

Memory Usage:

Metric: Monitoring the app’s consumption of device memory during various operations.

Importance: Efficient memory management prevents unnecessary strain on the device, reducing the likelihood of crashes and slowdowns.

Throughput:

Metric: Measuring the amount of data transmitted through the network within a given time frame.

Importance: Higher throughput ensures faster data transfer, contributing to a more responsive app experience.

Bandwidth Utilization:

Metric: Assessing the amount of network bandwidth the app consumes during usage.

Importance: Optimizing bandwidth usage is crucial for users with limited data plans and contributes to a smoother experience for all users.

CPU Interrupts per Second:

Metric: Counting the number of interruptions or requests the CPU receives and handles per second.

Importance: Monitoring CPU interrupts provides insights into the efficiency of task handling, helping optimize performance and responsiveness.

SpeeMain Thread:

Metric: Evaluating the overall speed of the app’s operations, from navigation to data processing.

Importance: Speed is a holistic metric that encompasses various aspects of performance and directly correlates with user satisfaction.

Common Performance Issues in Mobile Apps

Some of the reasons for performance issues in mobile apps include the ones that have to do with the application’s main thread, server-side, and interface.

Server-Side

Not all data is useful. Sometimes the unnecessary bits surmount the necessary ones.

Large amounts of superfluous data from the server can cause performance issues for the app. Along with such an issue, frequent HTTPS calls are other elements that can hinder the performance of an app.

Last but not least, API latency, errors, as well as data compression, can be detrimental to the performance of an app from the server.

Main Thread

The main thread is responsible for carrying out heavy data from the servers which in turn hinders the performance speed of the mobile app.

Other issues include database operations on the main thread of the app as well as the unorganized design of the database and data retrieval techniques.

Unstructured Algorithm and Code

App performance can be obstructed due to suboptimal code, SQL queries, or even inefficient algorithms. Either one or all of these issues are some major factors to consider when it comes to mobile app performance issues and how to fix them.

Cross-Platform and Multi-Version Support

In cases where a lack of cross-platform support can be observed, optimizing mobile app performance can become much more complex. This leads to errors in user engagement with the app that can affect its success and usability.

It can also lead to a user bounce rate and lack of visibility on the App Store.

Memory Leaks and Resource Restrictions

Resource constraints and memory leaks can lead to applications crashing and running inefficiently depicting a major bottleneck in the application.

Tools for Mobile App Testing

Speaking of mobile apps, it is only right to mention the tools that are responsible for the seamless optimization of mobile apps. Since users abandon apps that are slow and buggy, it is only obvious for app owners to implement seamless functionality in their apps.

To accomplish this, mobile app testing tools come in handy. Below are a few of them that can improve the functionality of Android apps:

Android Performance Testing Tools

Profiling through developer tools

General GPU profiling is performed on devices through developer tools with the help of the profile GPU Rendering feature under the monitoring section.

It can also be done through Profile HWUI rendering based on the Android version running on the device.

On the output side of things, you can see in a graph, that every bar represents an application frame. The height of the frame depicts the time required to render the frame on the screen

Android Profiler

Developer tools might help us with quick profiling whereas Android profiler helps in doing the same on Android devices.

Provided by Android Studio, it is the best Android IDE. It provides a shared timeline for network, CPU, battery usage, and memory.

Its pre-built APK profilers allow developers to debug and profile the APK without even building the Android Studio and only through debugging.

It also allows recording sessions and switching between them which helps in comparing the performance metrics between multifarious scenarios and mobile devices.

Memory Profiler

Memory leaks lead to app crashes and freezes. As a result, it is extremely important to observe the available memory utilization to make sure that the app performs perfectly.

Besides creating a high-level overview of memory allocation, it also develops heap dumps which is how pinpointing memory leaks is possible along with catching issues with the app’s performance.

CPU Profiler

Optimization of the CPU offers a smoother and quicker user experience. Increased CPU usage not only distorts mobile app performance but also decreases the battery life.

Hence, the CPU Profiler comes in handy when required to analyze thread activity in real-time. It also offers to record sessions to analyze function traces, method traces, as well as system traces.

Based on your requirements, there are two traces available:

System Trace- To inspect the behavior of the app interacting with the system resources.

Method and Function Traces- to analyze the functions and traces causing resource-heavy tasks.

iOS Performance Testing Tools

There are also multiple performance testing tools available for iOS devices. Every tool has its pros and cons, hence, make sure to choose the right one based on your requirements. Some of them are listed below:

Xcode Instruments

Instruments in this app can be used both independently as well as together with the Xcode tool set. It can also profile tvOS, watchOS, and macOS apps.

Once you pick a profile template or initiate profiling, you develop a trace document to manage and configure instruments.

Adjustments can be made to the testing environment by starting, pausing, as well as stopping data profiling.

These adjustments can also be done by adding instruments and displaying a graphical representation of the data coupled with the information of accumulated data and summary based on your needs. These instruments can help you in:

Profiling on both simulators as well as real devices.

Tracking CPU code and thread usage with Time Profiler.

Bottleneck spotting with the help of a Counter-profiling template.

Analyzing overall system activity over time with the Activity monitor template.

Identifying memory issues.

Tracking the network connections of the app with the Connections instrument.

Finding methods to optimize the app to attain seamless power efficiency.

Network Link Conditioner

This tool is also provided by Xcode and can simulate multiple network conditions. It contains some preset profiles such as high Latency DNS, 3G, Very Bad Network, etc. Additionally, it also helps in creating custom ones.

It is utilized on physical iOS devices and the device must be development-ready.

Types of Mobile App Performance Testing

Now that we understand the significance and the tools that can help one improve the performance of a mobile app, it is time to understand the different kinds of mobile performance testing.

Load Testing

This test is performed to make sure that the application is performing amicably well under an extortionate amount of users. You can also confirm the number of users that the app can hold and work under perfect conditions. This shows you the level of functionality your app can handle under a set of users.

This will facilitate releasing regular updates to optimize loading performance as you won’t have to do it as frequently as usual.

This will also allow you to determine the regular behavior of your app, throughput, and latency. It can also aid you in confirming your quality criteria.

Stress Testing

Stress testing is utilized to observe the components that become faulty first when there is a higher-than-expected workload on the app. Considering initial precautions will help you in averting a critical traffic circumstance.

In other words, you test the application to pinpoint its limits and breaking points as well as examine its ability to process data as well as high margins of traffic.

Launching a new iPhone resulting in a sudden surge in traffic on Apple’s official website is the perfect example of stress testing.

Endurance Testing

This type of testing evaluates the app’s performance under extended periods of high traffic. In other words, the app’s performance under overtime load will be examined.

The app is endowed with multiple loads to evaluate it for an extended timeline and observe how the performance needs, based on the production loads and durations, are dealt with by the app.

Spike Testing

Spike Testing is implemented to determine the functionality of an app during a sudden spike in traffic.

The general purpose behind performing this test is whether an app will be able to shoulder the load or maintain functionality during the erratic changes made in the load. Hence, it is analogous to stress and load testing with the only difference being that it incorporates a sudden boost in the traffic.

This way of testing is quite effective in determining if one is utilizing flexibility if they want to run a campaign through the app.

Volume Testing

Also known as flood testing, it is performed to decide the app’s ability to manage massive loads of data. The QA team figures out its impact on the response time as well as the behavior of the app while handling load.

This method also helps the QA team in deciding the challenges and capacity of the system. Hence, if you are developing your app to handle big data, then performing this test is quite significant.

Scalability Testing

This type of testing is done to determine the capability of an app to manage additional capacity when new features and functionalities are added to the app in the long run. It calculates requests per second, CPU, response time, processing speed, as well as network usage under such conditions.

The purpose of this test is to design the different phases of development in a way that allows stakeholders to cut back on costs and mitigate potential risks as a precaution.

Hence, while performing stress tests, you can increase the app’s storage and evaluate the scalability of the app.

How to conduct effective mobile app performance testing?

If you do not understand the process of mobile app performance testing and want to know better, this section will certainly help you. The steps required to make progress through the mobile app performance are:

Make sure to align your objectives with that of your business requirements. This stage teaches you about the mobile app architecture of the project including data, UX, and functionalities.

Make sure to set all your priorities for every scenario you can think of and examine every mobile app architecture individually.

Over here you need to set the key performance testing metrics along with mobile app KPIs to check if the evaluation was a success or a failure.

Simulate a real-life testing ecosystem to revise the look and feel of the interface and analyze the user experience of the app.

Based on the mobile app development methodology, streamline your testing methods to endow daily bug reports and regression tests. This will also lead to improvement in communication as well as enhancing the testing process.

Make sure to focus on the latency and bandwidth of a carrier network while testing the app to optimize and improve its overall user experience.

Make sure to focus on resolving problems at the end of the testing and re-testing process to ensure a bug-free app.

Conclusion

Now that you understand the ins and outs of mobile app performance testing, it is time to decide the tools that are best suited for your app’s performance testing.

Since it is all about having a systematic approach to test the functionality and performance of your mobile app, multiple tools at your disposal can come in handy.

Picking the perfect tool for performance testing is crucial for mobile app testing since it directly affects the project’s success and delivery expectations.

Leveraging the tools given in this article can elevate your app’s functionality to a higher level so make sure to pick one that suits your business needs.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

1. What factors must one consider before picking a performance testing tool?

Factors such as project requirements, protocol support, reporting, user-friendliness, cost, test types, scalability, and integration can directly affect the performance testing criteria of your app.

2. What are profiling tools and how do they contribute to mobile app performance testing?

Profiling tools such as Xcode instruments and Android Profiler help in spotting performance bottlenecks by offering app behavior insights. These tools allow developers to optimize code, improve the app performance, and enhance resource usage.

3. Can performance testing be applied to both Android and iOS apps?

Yes, performance testing is applied to both iOS and Android apps. Xcode caters to iOS testing while Android Profiler allows room for testing the need for Android applications.

4. How frequently must mobile app performance testing be conducted?

The right time to conduct mobile app performance testing is throughout the app development process, especially with important updates or even feature additions. Consistent testing ensures that performance issues are acknowledged and removed resulting in a highly functioning app.

The post Tools and Trends: Mobile App Performance Testing appeared first on 360 Degree Technosoft.

All You Need to Know About DevOps Testing Strategy

Jignesh Audichya — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 12:29:21 +0000

Introduction to DevOps
How does Mobile App Testing work?
Why is Quality Assurance Important for DevOps?
Implementing DevOps
DevOps Workflow
Benefits of DevOps Testing
Best Practices to Adopt While testing in DevOps
Best Tools for DevOps Testing

The majority of the small and medium-sized enterprises are adapting DevOps services to streamline the development and deployment process. It helps in prompt software delivery. It helps in streamlining the operations and iterations and enables improved planning, communication, and software deployment. While implementing DevOps in the development process, automated testing plays a significant role in speeding the process.

Introduction to DevOps

DevOps stands for development and operations and it is very much similar to what we call the agile development process. Those top mobile app development companies that are using agile methodology can easily adopt DevOps. This service takes care of the software right from the stage it is being built, tested, and launched in the ready-to-use environment. DevOps allows focusing on modernizing the process to check the progress. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the development process and deliver clients what they need quickly without any bugs.

How does Mobile App Testing Work?

Testing is not a new concept in the software development world. Every app developed must be checked by the testers and then launched in the Google play store and apple app store. Apps without testing are just on the road to failure. It is not feasible to launch an app with bugs and crashes. Users will abandon the app and never return if it is full of bugs.

Hence, an app must be tested before launching it in the market to check the errors and resolve them. Mobile app testing in a normal environment is different as compared to testing in a DevOps environment. In the traditional waterfall model of testing, these are the steps that are usually followed.

Knowing app requirements
Analyzing project requirements
Mobile app design
Design implementation
Mobile app testing
App deployment
Mobile app maintenance

In traditional testing, development and testing are done by two separate teams. This way testing begins only after the development is entirely completed. Also, bug fixing will start after development and testing which is time-consuming. Here, the quality and standard of the app are not maintained in the allocated time frame.

Why is Quality Assurance Important for DevOps?

Development and operational services is a collaborative approach and integrating quality assurance in the cycle plays a significant role in the process. DevOps is all about continuous testing and quality management. Here, testing is done alongside development which saves both time and effort of testing and bug fixing. According to the traditional testing approach, testing has no role in the initial steps of the development and comes at the very end. This approach changes with DevOps in quality assurance. With this service, the code is pushed into the production by the testing team very easily and it is deployed by the DevOps. Because of this, quality assurance is not just limited to finding out bugs but also making sure the app is launched smoothly. Quality assurance has changed immensely with DevOps.

Testing checks the performance and quality of the application securely and speedily before the actual launch of the app. Automation makes the whole process ramp up.
An organization is needed to create the correct DevOps testing strategy to launch a successful mobile app.
Delivering ready builds to the clients at any phase of the development cycle won’t be possible if the app is not tested and perfect at every stage.

Implementing DevOps

If you are looking to integrate a DevOps pipeline, several things need to run continuously. The prime element of a DevOps Testing strategy is continuous testing. It is also known as shift-left testing which is basically a simple approach to software and system testing which testing is an early part of the software cycle. The ultimate goal is shortening time, strengthening quality, and reducing defects paving their way into production code. Here are some of the things to be done continuously.

Continuous development
Continuous integration
Continuous delivery
Continuous monitoring

How to Build DevOps Workflow?

Creating a single workflow might not be enough. Different projects have different requirements, objectives, and different teams. Hence, it is necessary to create different workflows to follow and get optimum benefit and better output. Here are the two best possible scenarios to enable DevOps into the workflow.

Case 1: The first case is used for creating a workflow for developing greenfield software. The development team will be initiating and would be simple to integrate and automate testing operations with an app as the team size grows.
Case 2: The second case is used for creating a workflow for developing brownfield software. There will be an existing team and its codebase and DevOps are needed for the app maintenance. This will require some added efforts to build the workflow again for greenfield software development. These efforts are to complete tasks through the kanban board.

Figuring out all the tasks with the kanban board helps to know the issues to speed up the workflow. Detailing all the allocated tasks on the board will help the team to get together ending up in creating the functional test strategies. This will end up improving the collaboration between TestOps and DevOps.

Benefits of DevOps Testing

The basic agenda of DevOps services is continuous testing. Here are some of the benefits of using DevOps in your testing strategy.

1) Functional and Non-Functional Testing

With DevOps, both functional and non-functional testing aspects are covered. It eliminates the need of conducting both types of testing separately on the application. Types of functional testing include unit testing, integration testing, API testing, cross-browser testing, and regression testing. All these things are covered under DevOps. Non-functional testing types cover usability testing, security testing, scalability testing, and reliability testing. Again all of these types are also covered under the DevOps strategy.

2) Risk factor Analysis

DevOps consultants ensure testing the project build in every version of the project. It eliminates the risks of buggy apps and timely delivery. It keeps on checking errors or bugs at every stage and also keeps solving it ensuring a perfect app in the actual working environment.

3) Improved User Experience

Users share their experience of using the app and suggest things to improve. Feedback can help to understand the existing problems and solve them. This will help the app get better and release updates making the app exactly what users want it to be. This way test cases can be created according to the functional viewpoint implemented to check the users’ experience. DevOps testing will make the software stable and sturdy.

4) Platform Coverage

We all know DevOps uses test automation which makes sure that multiple platforms are covered by using correct test automation tools. This way the project is delivered at an adequate speed.

5) Honest Feedback and Quicker Delivery

To make the changes for improving the application, you will need quick feedback and a team to apply the changes at a quick pace. In the traditional development and testing methods, the developers will look to the app weeks after finishing the app because of the late feedback. DevOps will alter these things. It will make the feedback come sooner and will apply changes during the ongoing development. This makes DevOps get faster feedback and even faster delivery.

6) Stable Software

Plenty of software development companies have accepted DevOps into their process for effective results. One of the best qualities of this service is that every member of the team has a specific role to play and has similar responsibilities. The DevOps professionals have the same goal to create and deploy stable and secure software.

Also Read: How Much Does NFT Marketplace Development Platforms Cost? Step-by-step Pattern

Best Practices to Adopt While testing in DevOps

Picking automation testing for your solutions can be challenging. It is important to evaluate the software properly before leaping into the decision to implement it. Let me jot down a few key aspects to consider while framing a successful test strategy.

1) End-to-end Tests

Testing the functional areas is one of the key aspects and there is a requirement to write end-to-end tests. It helps in covering the real-time scenarios of every module. It does not rely on the unit tests. The tests involve specific sets of test cases to cover vast areas. This will enhance the confidence and trust in the project delivery

2) Simple With Kanban Boards

Kanban boards are a part of agile development methodology which lay its focus on the smooth delivery of the project. By focusing on the key features like updates on project status, regular updates, and issues to communicate and collaborate with the team better. The board will give an exact viewpoint of issues in the pipeline and improves the roadmap.

3) Testing Tools

Testing tools will make the work of the mobile app testers a tiny bit easier. Well, the testers do need enough experience and expertise to analyze the tools and know-how to use them. Budget is also a concern here when it comes to testing tools in automation. Here are some of the DevOps testing tools:

Continuous delivery tools
Monitoring tools
Version control tools
Performance testing tools
Security testing tools

Best Tools for DevOps Testing

There are a plethora of DevOps testing tools in the market. These tools will save time by automating the entire process of development integration and delivery. Here are some of the most popular DevOps testing tools.

1) Docker

Docker is an open-source DevOps technology suite that works on the theory of containerization allowing the developers to code, test, and deploy apps despite the project environment.

2) Jenkins

Jenkins is also an open-source tool that allows for creating, delivering, and testing software. This testing tool allows mobile app developers to search for bugs and fix them in the codebase.

3) JMeter

JMeter is a highly adaptable tool load testing tool used for testing and assessing the performance of the website. It is an open-source tool.

4) GitHub

It is another highly used tool used for effortless collaboration. One of the key features of GitHub is version restoration in case there are any errors found in the latest version.

5) Selenium

Selenium is one of the browser automation tools used for web UI testing and is highly used in DevOps pipelines.

Wrapping Up

Usage of mobile apps is increasing and being different with each passing day. Plenty of businesses are adopting DevOps as a service giving their business something better compared to their competitors. Based on everything we have discussed above, DevOps can amplify the development process, ensure smooth project delivery, implement effective quality assurance, and ensures successful project delivery. So, stop thinking and start adapting the nuances in your business for optimum customer satisfaction with quality output. Hire the best DevOps consulting services and start making your process better.

The post All You Need to Know About DevOps Testing Strategy appeared first on 360 Degree Technosoft.

Wireframing Your App: Fake it Before Building it

Pratik Kanada — Tue, 15 May 2018 05:56:01 +0000

When we go shopping, we try the clothes or shoes and if we find the fitting right, comfortable and looks good, we go for buying them. Even after the purchase, we don’t feel satisfied, we return it. When it’s about the mobile app, you just can return once the app is developed and deployed. You can’t invest a bulky amount to get a result with which you are not happy and satisfied.

This is the reason why smart mobile app development company has come up with the concept of wireframing. The entire roadmap of the app development process is shared. Also, how the design will look and a rough idea of which feature and functionality will be installed and where is to be shown to the client.

Prototyping stage is the stage of changes. Client understands the flow, share his views, suggest his opinions and play with the ideas but it hits the execution stage. Wireframing saves a great deal of time, finance, and outburst with the app that has a better user experience. Of course, the client has contribution at each of the stages of the app development, right from designing to development, testing to deployment but with minor changes which need lesser time.

Why do you need wireframing?

If you are anywhere mingling with the thought that is it really needed? Can’t you skip this step and hit directly with the designing? Hold this thought, my friend. Don’t. I repeat don’t even think. The time invested in wireframing is way lesser than the time needed for redesigning the app on the grounds of the user disliking it. So, better get a sneak peak rolling before the actual launch. Also, prototyping has never been easy than it is now. Designers are at the ease of variegated software options which offers them easy and prompt ways to build wireframe.

Designers would be glad to know that there are several tools which even totally eradicates the use of sketches in wireframing process. Convenient, right? Why take all the efforts in sketching the screens when you can when you can do with just some clicks? This software will show you the mirror image of the mobile platform and you will just have to drag and drop the features and functions into it.

If you are a designer and looking for some tools to ease your work for wire-framing your mobile app development, here are some of them:

Essential WireFraming Tools for Mobile App

1) Moqups

It is entirely free to use the tool and certainly the easiest one to get acquainted with the use. It contains a straightforward interface to get the grip. Also, it has a bulk of pre-built things to fill up your designs like sliders, image placeholders, and such others. It also has a tablet and mobile templates which are attached to the UI elements attached to those particular platforms. One of the drawbacks of this platform is that it produces mere wireframes. However, if you intend to push interactivity, you will have to pick some other platform.

2) Balsamiq

The core strength of this tool is building wireframes. Well, for using this tool, you need to have knowledge about the process through which you can create an interactive yet simple wireframe for testing and demo. This is basically called linking. This tool is specifically for the sketch lovers as this tool offers a simple whiteboard area for sketching. To accelerate your content creation, there are lots of content created by other which you can import and use for your prototyping. The tool also avails you with the templates for the Android and iOS for handy prototyping.

3) Proto

This tool is an exclusively wireframing platform which avails the prompt mobile wireframing which shows the final product to the client. This tool totally eliminates the knowledge of coding and the best thing is it can be accessed through any browser. Proto allows the designers to create and manage projects from just a single screen. The tools avail editor for building wireframes screens and player for delivering it. This tool also allows installing the wireframe on the device itself only if they run on Android or iOS by using a browser app.

Save

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Usability Mobile App Testing: How To Get It Done?

Gopal Rathod — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 02:28:40 +0000

Before heading on a long road trip, do you get your car checked and fixed? Of course, you do. You don’t want to get stuck in the middle of the way, right? If you intend to take your mobile app on a long drive as well, you need to get it checked and fixed before it gets rolling on the road or here I would rather say App store. Come on, let’s accept the fact, you cannot be perfect at the first shot. There are errors, defects, some technical flaws which are caught while usability testing and when you roll out the final version, it is exactly as the user expected.

Usability testing is just like your mom trying a new recipe and asking you to taste and tell her how is it. She cooked something and before it is served to the entire family, she just wants to double check whether every ingredient is in appropriate proportion or not. So, the mobile app development is the food, the developer takes the place of your mom and selected set of users to play your part of testing and sharing feedback. There is a specific set of users, not from the tech domains, general users and app are tested with those users. Developers that disdain testing probably ends up with an app with bugs, making the users irritated and forcing them to abandon the app and awarding you with ultimate app failure.

So, are you from the league of disdained people refraining from app testing and accepting app failure? You better not be and if you are not, here are some of the steps to get done with the usability app testing.

Points of Usability Mobile App Testing

1) Don’t Keep Testing Apart, Get Going from The Very Start

Get the users involved from the inception stage of the app development. Just like when you shop for the bride, you show her the stuff and if she dislikes something, it gets changed. So care for the users just like the bride and show them the bits and pieces of the app right from the start. You can begin by rolling out the prototypes which portray the basic features and functionalities of the app. You can also consider sharing screen-shots and mock-ups or any damn thing for which early user feedback is an aid.

Let me give you an example while dressing up for a party, you thought you had a red outfit and you dressed up accordingly with jewelry, heels, and makeup that goes with red but you end with an outfit in white. Removing the whole makeup, jewelry, and getting dressed again, what a massive frustration and time-consuming process it would be? The similar thing applies to app development testing as well. Bringing in the changes post the designer has done all the designing work and the developers have written the entire bunch of coding, changing it all will be a messy and upsetting job. So, why not pull do it at each and every stage to save you some time, energy and frustration. Usability testing at every phase of app development and changes accordingly is something you should start from now if you haven’t done it till date.

2) Observe

Have you given a test? Of course, you would have. There would be a supervisor around to check on you. Now, it’s your time to take the test and observe. Collect a bunch of people and ask them to use your developed app in front of you. This way you will get to know how they are using the app? Which are the features they have trouble accessing? Which are the spots where they got stuck? Do they have any trouble in navigating the app? This will give you an exact idea of the points of improvement. At every regular interval of development, keep testing with a selected set of users and continue getting their feedback.

3) Don’t Just Automate, Try Out a Real Mate

Automated testing is on the rise and the majority of the mobile app development company is investing in these tools. I am not saying don’t try automated testing, in fact, you must implement automated usability testing. However, manual testing works the best. The ultimate users are humans and the best testing you can avail for your app is through human interactive. Research on the target audience, their preferred location of using the app, their types of devices and test your devices accordingly. One of the notice testers: while you are testing the app, make sure to feed the realistic text instead of Lorem Ipsum. One more point to be noted testers: if the app works smoothly on some of the devices does not mean it will be same for all the types of devices. So, don’t let loose on your testing, test on all the types of devices and be sure before you actually launch it.