When developing any software product, the whole team strives for the best result, but, as in any process, certain difficulties may arise or some errors may occur. In order to detect and eliminate them in time, the application is tested. This stage allows you to identify errors or inconsistencies at an early stage, make the product even better and improve it. And in order not to miss anything, a checklist for testing mobile applications will help.
Functional testing
First of all, it is always necessary to test the main functions of the application - how it works. Functional testing makes it clear whether the application copes with its functions, whether all elements work, whether there are no errors, and whether the basic requirements are met. This is the most important type of testing that should and always be done first, which is why it entered the mobile application testing checklist at number one.
What are we checking?
In short, it is necessary to check the correct operation of all application functions. But here it is important to note that it is necessary to check all the elements and the relationships of the elements, so functional testing is divided into four levels:
- Component testing: Programmers, not testers, are usually responsible for this level, because at this stage it is necessary to test each individual element of the system, and this can only be done using code.
- Integration testing: at this level of testing, it is necessary to check the interaction of the components with each other. Here, attention is paid to how two or more components work in conjunction, how transitions and data exchange between them occur.
- System Testing: This is where the entire application is tested as a unit. When testing, it is important to go through all possible scenarios of interaction with a software product in order not to miss anything, and to make sure that the entire system functions properly.
- Acceptance testing: This is the final stage of functional testing, the task of which is to make sure that all requirements agreed at the beginning of development and accepted along the way are satisfied. For example, the system may function perfectly as a whole, but it turns out that some part of the functionality simply does not exist. Acceptance testing is used to avoid such situations.
Compatibility testing
When it comes to testing a mobile application, it is important to pay due attention to non-functional testing as well. One of its types is compatibility testing. The fact is that mobile applications are most often used on the most diverse range of devices, and it is very important that the application function correctly on each of them, regardless of the different parameters. If compatibility testing fails, or is not carried out at all (which also threatens with the risk of errors and incorrect work), you risk losing a large part of your audience because they were not able to use the product from their device. Moreover, it threatens the loss of reputation for your company.
What are we checking?
When testing compatibility, it is very important to determine as accurately as possible the range of devices from which the system will be used, and to check its operation in all necessary conditions. So, it is important to pay attention to the following nuances:
- how the application works with different device capacities;
- whether a limited amount of memory interferes with the operation of the system and what is the minimum amount of free device memory required;
- how the interface is displayed on devices with different screen sizes and resolutions;
- whether it is possible to use the standard device buttons to control the application, or if it is not provided, whether the use of standard buttons will interfere with the operation of the application;
- it is important to check all aspects of the interaction of the application with the device itself, on which it will be installed and launched.
Cross platform testing
Cross-platform testing is the most important subspecies of compatibility testing, but it has its own specific features. Its essence is to check whether the application works equally correctly on different platforms: android, ios, blackberry, and so on. Of course, you need to check only those systems that are used by the target audience of your application, you should not spend resources on checking unnecessary indicators.
However, this subtype of testing is not applicable to all applications. There are three types of applications: web applications, native and cross-platform (hybrid). Web applications run in browsers, so there is no need to check their compatibility with the platform, it is more important to pay attention to cross-browser compatibility. Native applications are developed purposefully for one platform, tested exclusively on it, and do not require cross-platform testing, because they are not intended to be installed and used on other platforms. And cross-platform applications are created once for several platforms at once, and here it is very important to pay attention to appropriate testing.
What are we checking?
It is necessary to check the correctness of the entire cycle of user interaction with the application: installation, opening, use in various scenarios, deletion, and even re-download.
At the same time, it is important to pay attention to all other types of non-functional testing: the application must have access to the necessary device resources, provide the proper level of security, display correctly and demonstrate a sufficient level of performance regardless of the system.
Security Testing
Security is one of the most important factors for the user when deciding whether to use any software products. It is important that no user data is at risk, so that the system cannot be hacked and used by attackers for their own purposes.
When testing, often only the most important aspects are selected and some steps or steps are skipped to save time. Indeed, on smaller projects, a thorough check of all levels and features can take longer than the entire product development. But security testing is not something to be neglected.
What are we checking?
To make sure that the application under test is completely secure, we pay attention to three key aspects:
- The system is protected from intruders. No one will be able to penetrate the application or use it for their own purposes unauthorized.
- User data that they enter into the application is protected from any third parties.
- User data on the device is protected from accidental deletion or any other damage associated with the operation of the application.
Localization and globalization testing
Another stage of testing is checking the localization and globalization of the application. This type of testing is also not mandatory for all applications, since some are developed exclusively for a narrow audience, whose representatives are located in one place and do not have significant differences among themselves. If your application is designed for a wider audience, or you claim to be global, you need to take the time to localize.
What are we checking?
Each location, like its inhabitants, has certain features that distinguish it from others and should be taken into account when developing the application:
- the correctness of translations into different languages;
- automatic detection of time zones and the correct display of time and date;
- culturally relevant to the region (for example, in some countries, the colors or other images used in the application may have certain symbolism that may be unacceptable and lead to the collapse of the campaign in that region).
Usability Testing
Another significant aspect that needs to be tested regardless of the scale and features of the application is its usability. The importance and impact of User Experience on the fate of an application is a topic that has been discussed many times. However, in testing, this is a separate category that cannot be bypassed. The fact is that it should be easy and convenient for the user to get used to the application and perform the target action, otherwise he will not use your product. Your task is to make sure that your audience can do what they installed in the application, without spending hours figuring it out.
What are we checking?
Speaking about the usability of the application, it is necessary to mention a few points to check:
- Intuitive interface: the user immediately understands the purpose of all elements on the screen;
- Thoughtful user path: the path to the target action should contain a minimum number of steps so that the goal can be reached as quickly as possible;
- No distractions: when designing your application, it is important not to overdo it, and for all the beauty of the elements, do not lead the user astray;
- There are different usage scenarios: if your user is far from WiFi and uses only mobile Internet, travels in transport and can hold and operate the device with only one hand, and so on.
- If necessary, scenarios for people with disabilities are provided: if this category is present in your target audience, take care of voice control, voice input, and also provide the ability to sound everything that is on the screen.
Performance Testing
Another important criterion in the operation of the application is its performance. The appropriate type of testing checks how well the software product works under various types of load. Conducting performance testing eliminates the risk that your application will not cope with the expected number of users or break if there are slightly more users than expected. A simple example is Black Friday - a day of big sales and a lot of purchases, and therefore buyers. At this time, the number of users may increase so much that it is difficult for the server to process all incoming requests. And performance testing will help to foresee this.
What are we checking?
There are several important subtypes of performance testing that allow you to carry out the most comprehensive and comprehensive test:
- Performance: we check the speed of the system response at certain given load indicators;
- Load: we check whether the system can withstand various loads with the same performance, we start from a minimum and gradually bring it to the stipulated indicators, we check the margin of safety;
- Volume: applies mostly to application databases, we check how much information they are able to withstand and process correctly;
- Stability: a kind of strength test, how long the system can show a sufficiently high level of performance under a stable load, we make sure that there are no failures;
- Scalability: Scalability is a factor that may not be immediately useful, but it is worth considering that if you leave fewer servers to process, or vice versa, any changes in system scale should not reduce performance;
- Stress: Stress testing tests the system as if “beyond” the possible, and applies to all of the above types. Therefore, we will consider it separately.
stress testing
This subtype of load testing is used to see how your application behaves in a critical situation, and also whether it will return to operation when the load drops back to normal.
What are we checking?
When conducting stress testing, it is important to pay attention to the limiting capabilities of the system for each type of performance:
- How will it function if the load significantly exceeds the norm;
- Will the system cope with an irregular amount of data;
- Will your application work correctly under a long continuous and sufficiently high load;
- How will the performance of the system change if a critically small number of servers are left to work, or vice versa, if there are too many paths;
- With each of them, whether performance indicators return to normal if the load is returned to normal.
conclusions
Mobile App Testing is a mandatory and necessary step in app development if you want to achieve maximum results. Finding and fixing bugs is not the only task of testing. It is necessary to pay enough attention to all functions, as well as non-functional characteristics of software products, then testing can ensure a high level of quality.
In order to make sure that you have checked everything you need and did not miss anything, use the checklist, mobile application testing requires accuracy and thoroughness.
We at Agilie always conduct testing from the early stages of product development toa minimize risks and maximize the quality of the result.
If you have any questions, you can leave a request on the site, our manager will call you back and advise. If you want to learn more about the development of a mobile application in Agilie, please contact us in any way convenient for you, and we will be happy to answer all your questions.