Nowadays, mobile phones have evolved from simple communication devices to a gadget that can basically do everything. Whether it be ordering food, availing a cab service or simply looking for directions, it can all be done using a mobile phone. This is only possible due to the wonderful world of mobile applications. Therefore, we have to assure a certain level of quality before an application is released into the market place.

Mobile app testing is a crucial and time-consuming task as it exposes the flaws of the app and unique challenges. The results of a good mobile app testing enable you to deliver a high-quality app that provides a great mobile experience to your customer.

Here, we describe all the success test cases/scenarios we follow for quick mobile app testing. Which simply reduces our QA efforts and save time.

Testing strategies we follow,

• Functional Testing
• Performance Testing
• UI Testing
• Security Testing
• Device Testing

Functional Testing

• Ensure the app has been launched by downloading and installing it for use.
• Verify that the mobile app display is adaptable to the device screen.
• Ensure all menus on the app are functioning.
• Verify that the text on the mobile app is readable and clear.
• Verify that the app does not stop the functioning of other apps in the mobile device.
• Check the best navigation presence between vital application modules.
• Verify the required fields work correctly.

Performance Testing

• Check the performance of the app on different networks such as 3G, 4G, etc.
• Test the application response time.
• Evaluate the application for different load times.
• Evaluate the battery time while using the application.
• Test the memory leaks, battery consumption, and camera, etc.
• Check that the app support image capturing.

UI Testing

• Check for the image size which is displayed in a good manner.
• Confirm that any sort of text ought not to cut off.
• If the user removes an item, show confirm box.
• Test for spelling and grammar errors.
• Check that Spinner (Size, Types) ought to be flexible according to the screen.
• Verify that the app gives a technique to undoing or returning an activity, on tapping the wrong item, in an acceptable time period.
• Check that Font size ought to be compatible.

Security Testing

• Prevent from insecure data storage in the keyboard cache of the application.
• To prevent buffer overflows and memory corruption cases.
• Crash recovery and transaction interruptions.
• Check that the application is able to withstand any brute force attack.
• Secure the data communications via tokens.
• Check and prevent SQL injection related attacks.

Device Testing

Execute test cases and scripts in all the previously identified devices, in the cloud, and/or in physical devices in the lab or via testing tools.

Commonly used mobile app testing tools

For functionality testing:

Selendroid

Selendroid is a test automation framework that drives off the UI of Android native and hybrid applications (apps) and mobile web.

Features

• Full compatibility with the JSON Wire Protocol.
• Testing the mobile web using the built-in Android driver web view app.
• Same concept for automating native or hybrid apps.
• Full integration as a node into the Selenium Grid for scaling and parallel testing.

Robotium

Robotium is an open-source test framework for Android applications. Robotium tests can be run on both the emulator and the device.

Features

• Test execution is fast
• Easy to write
• Shorter code
• Automatic timing and delays

For Security testing:

OWASP Zed Attack Proxy

The Zed Attack Proxy is an open-source tool used for performing manual testing as well as automated tests. Which is maintained under the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP).

Features

• Automated Scanner
• Brute Force Scanner
• Web Sockets
• Intercepting

QARK

This tool is designed to look for several security-related vulnerabilities, either in source code or packaged APK’s. This tool is also capable of creating “Proof-of-Concept” deployable APKs and/or ADB commands, capable of exploiting many of the vulnerabilities it finds. It is 100% free to use.

Conclusion

With regard to the usability and accessibility of the mobile app, manual testing is king. To do the right manual mobile app testing, you have to structure the testing steps before you get down to it. You should have a thorough plan and a detailed way for every test case. That will help you to run the same test on multiple devices and reproduce the bugs if any.

Also, you can use the automation frameworks for testing the functionality and security of mobile apps. If you stick to the procedures we follow, you’ll see the efficiency of your mobile testing efforts as a good result with no time.

What do you think? Do you have more tips for effective testing? Let us know the comments or lift queries and discussions over to our Twitter or Facebook.