Mobile apps are becoming smarter over
time! Present-day mobile applications offer powerful and trendy features and a
rich UX to keep up with the rapidly rising user-expectations. With the increase
in the complexity of features, there is more complication in the developmental
eco-system thereby increasing the possibility of bugs in the software. Critical
bugs like freezing issues, app crashes, unintuitive navigation, slow-loading,
or privacy breaches may arise. So the users may abandon such an app and switch
to another app, as there are several options available to users. Therefore, a mobile app development company must take
preventive measures during various app developmental stages and conduct
exhaustive testing to avoid any glitches in the app. However, testing mobile
applications is more complex, expensive, lengthier, and challenging as compared
to traditional web or desktop apps.
This article gives you a peek into
the key challenges faced by mobile app
developers while developing
and testing applications along with some remedial measures to overcome these
roadblocks.
The Key Mobile App Testing Challenges Encountered by Developers
Various Types of Mobile
Apps
There are various types of mobile apps like native apps, hybrid
apps, web apps, progressive web apps, etc. Despite having similar content, the functionalities
and testing methodologies for each of these types could differ from the other. So
testing these apps could be quite a bit challenging.
Fragmentation: Platforms, Devices, and
OS
There area huge
number of platforms, mobile devices, and operating systems in the market. Since
2007, approximately 220million iOS devices and 500million Android devices have
been shipped. Owing to this vast diversity, several compatibility issues may crop
up in mobile apps that are running on different devices or platforms. So it
becomes challenging to ensure that an app functions in the same way on another device
or platform. Also, as compared to iOS, Android apps encounter more
fragmentation issues since there are eleven different operating systems. Thus,
it becomes a herculean task for a mobile
app development company to offer a smooth UX across various OS,
platforms, and devices.
Internationalizing
the apps
A majority of mobile apps are designed for being used across
international markets. So, localization testing is mandatory, including
translation testing for which one must consider the targeted regional traits,
time-zones, and preferences of users. However, altering the time while an app
is running is quite challenging. Furthermore, implementing right-to-left
languages is another challenge that puzzles developers.
Connectivity woes
A mobile app’s capabilities regarding online connectivity entirely
depend on the services of the internet provider. The network’s strength
determines the app’s performance and so variations in the connectivity hamper
performance. Although the connection APIs on the mobile OS is designed to
handle these challenges, the app may face varying issues when it functions in
the real environment. Also, one must necessarily test bandwidth usage.
Developers also need to ensure that apps function correctly in offline mode in
case of network issues.
Usability Considerations
Mobile app screens being small, it becomes quite difficult
for developers to offer a simple and clean interaction while providing all the
necessary information. While designing/testing, developers need to take into
consideration the usability-related factors like attractive interface, easily
accessible content, intuitive elements, the capability of the images to adjust
to different screen sizes, smooth navigation, etc. that are required to provide
a rich user experience. Another challenging task is creating the size of the click areas correctly so that the link
is clickable and ensuring that the texts can be read clearly without the need
for lenses.
Privacy and
security
Safety measures are to be adopted for protecting the privacy
of users’ vital data. Apps tested on a secure
private cloud will eliminate chances of data breaches, and detect security
issues faster as compared to that on public clouds. It is advisable to resolve
these issues during development rather than fixing them post-production to save
time and money.
Multiple Testing
Interfaces
Developers depend on testing tools like mobile emulators
and simulators to test general features as well as to conduct Regression
Testing. But, the environment in which testing is conducted is far from being
real. However, these offer just a few advantages and cannot be considered as a
substitute for real-world testing. For best results, usage of simulators and
emulators alongside in-the-wild testing
is recommended.
Listing Few Other
Challenges!
·
Testing the touch-screen phones can be intricate
at times.
·
Device-based testing requires testing laboratory
set-up, purchase of real mobile devices, verifying device-based functions, many
more QoS parameters, etc., making it a costly affair.
·
Constantly changing environments in smartphones
and the usage patterns can create challenges while testing the apps
·
Usage of several mobile apps drains the battery
of smartphones and affects battery life too. So, need to ensure that the power
consumption of the apps is kept minimal.
Remedial Measures
·
Keep the best developmental and testing
practices in mind and pick the right testing tools.
·
Test an app for offline performance, offline
support abilities, low signal strength, and varying Wi-Fi speed during the
developmental phase itself.
·
For a satisfying user experience, review the
quality of features, and ignore redundant content.
·
OS fragmentation challenges can be handled by
o
Understanding the TA and the device preferred in
a particular area. This minimizes the focus and resolves issues in lesser time
o
Detecting the issue and testing the app by employing
an efficient emulator for a similar operating system
·
One can also try out the open-source testing
solutions like Appium, Robotium, and Calabash or
commercial solutions like perfecto and eggplant.
Endnote
Along with the above measures, the experience of the mobile
app developers and quality analysts also matters here. So, hiring
experienced mobile app developers for developing and testing your app would
be a smart move to convert and retain customers.
Biz4Solutions, a leading mobile
app development company; having highly proficient app developers is worth a try.
Reach us
at sales.enquiry@biz4solutions.com.
To know more about our other core
technologies, refer to links below:
React
Native App Development Company
Angular App
Development Company
No comments:
Post a Comment