Mobile applications are one of the rising components of the modern app development and testing industry. Using mobile applications, the developers can not only provide customized experiences to the customers but also assist with portability. While performing mobile app testing, the app developers have to integrate app testing processes like cross-browser testing, regression testing, and performance testing. This is because the mobile app platform is one of the diverse components of the modern industry that requires specific adjustments to ensure the smooth functioning of the core infrastructure. While working on mobile applications, the developers can also benefit a lot from the integration of automation testing.
This article will explore some of the common challenges that the testers will encounter while performing mobile application testing. We will also discuss some of the most effective solutions to these challenges. Finally, we will discuss some other basic practices and tips that can help utilize the full potential of a modern mobile app development and testing environment.
The World of Mobile Apps
The market for mobile applications is snowballing as it is ignited by technological advancements, increased smartphone penetration, and evolving customer requirements. Current market studies show that almost 55% of total Internet traffic comes from mobile devices. Let us go through some other most important parameters that can justify the inclusion of high-quality mobile apps in the current industry:
● Competition and Diversity
The modern mobile app market is highly diverse as it serves different niches and industries. The Apple App Store and the Google Play Store offer millions of applications across different categories which include gaming, entertainment, productivity, and education. So, it is visible that the competition between the applications is huge and companies must maintain the quality of their app to remain in this segment. It is also important to offer unique value propositions and a high-quality user experience to the customers.
● Quality and User Experience
The application quality and user experience have a significant role in the success of the application. So, parameters like ratings, positive user reviews, and word-of-mouth recommendations play a vital role in attracting new customers and retaining the existing ones. It is also important for the developers to focus on delivering intuitive interfaces, seamless performance, and valuable functionalities to stand out in the competitive landscape.
● Inclusion of Emerging Technologies
Using mobile applications, developers can include various new technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and blockchain within their company business practices. Using these innovations, the app developing companies can have a huge boost on the drive engagement and user experience. Moreover, the inclusion of these technologies will also open up new possibilities for future app developers.
● Security and Privacy
While working on modern apps, the developers must remember that the core infrastructure of modern apps stores a lot of sensitive user information including transaction credentials. So, it is very important to focus on user data handling parameters. It is also important to adhere to strict security measures which comply with regulations such as GDPR. Companies must also maintain transparency while communicating data practices to maintain user trust and create a positive reputation for the brand.
● Future Trends
The mobile app market will continue to evolve with the inclusion of emerging trends like the Internet of Things devices, 5G technology, wearable devices, and a crucial focus on sustainability and social impact. So mobile app developers and testers need to keep themselves updated with all these trends and practices to continue elevating their development standards.
To navigate the mobile app market, the testers will require a thorough understanding of user preferences, and technological trends, and a serious commitment to delivering exceptional user experience. The testers must remember that a successful mobile app will combine responsiveness, innovation, and effective marketing strategies. All these inclusions will help it to thrive in this dynamic ecosystem of modern technology.
Importance of Mobile App Regression Testing
Multiple mobile apps go through several updating processes that solve previously detected bugs and errors and also add new features to improve the effectiveness and quality of the app. However, it is a common scenario that certain new additions might harm the functioning of the existing elements of the app. So, the developers must perform mobile app regression testing to ensure the integrity of the app architecture. Let us go through some other crucial reasons that justify the performance of regression testing on modern mobile applications:
● Maintaining Quality
Since regression testing helps the app developers ensure the new elements work properly with the existing elements of the app, it has a significant role in maintaining the quality of the mobile application.
● Detecting Bugs
By implementing regression testing, the app developers can detect all the crucial bugs and errors at the earlier stages of the development process before they can turn into serious concerns to the app architecture. This process also helps the companies to simplify the app debugging and troubleshooting process.
● Improved User Experience
Mobile application testing helps the developers to ensure the proper placement of all the user interface elements present in the application. This means that even after significant app updates, the end users can easily navigate through the app infrastructure and perform their basic actions. Regression testing also helps to ensure that at least the basic structure of the app is functional in all instances and use cases.
● Risk Mitigation
Without the inclusion of regression testing, the developers can unknowingly introduce regressions that can have severe consequences for the app’s functioning. So, by detecting these early, regression testing helps reduce the risk of critical failures in the app architecture after its release.
● Saving Time and Costs
The release of the application, and fixing bugs can be a highly time-consuming and resource-consuming process. So, by implementing regression testing, the developers can detect these bugs during the production phase and save a lot of company time and resources.
So, we can say that regression testing is an integral part of the app development life cycle as it guarantees the stability, reliability, and overall quality of the mobile app. Moreover, the ongoing process of mobile app regression safeguards the source code against potential issues and supports a positive user experience. Finally, it also has a critical role in boosting the business by providing a competitive edge to the application.
Resolving the Crucial Challenges of Mobile App Regression Testing
While executing mobile application testing, the new developers and testers will face some crucial challenges that can cripple the development and testing process. So, to avoid this instance, we have listed some of the common issues and their solutions:
1. Lack of Reliable Test Data
- Challenge: Since the mobile device market is one of the diverse segments, it becomes impossible for app-developing companies to maintain an on-site device bench consisting of all the physical devices. In such a scenario, the developers have to rely on only simulators and emulators for the testing process which cannot emulate the physical parameters of a device. Therefore during this process, the app developers will encounter several errors like false positives and false negatives.
- Solution: To solve this issue, the testers can integrate cloud platforms that provide access to thousands of real devices through remote servers. These servers can not only be accessed from anywhere in the world but also contain outdated devices and software. Moreover, AI-powered test orchestration and execution platforms like LambdaTest have additional features like live test activity logs, a native bug tracker, and AI-integrated automation testing.
2. Prolonged Testing Time
- Challenge: Modern mobile applications consist of thousands of different elements that require proper testing to ensure that it is functional in all instances. However, if the developers design test cases to individually test these elements, it would take several months to complete the development and testing process. They should not only cost a lot of money but will also hamper the reputation of the company in this competitive market.
- Solution: To solve this issue, the application developing companies can integrate parallel testing with mobile app regression testing. Using this process, the app developers can initiate multiple regression test instances on different testing configurations and machines at the same time. The proper execution of this step can complete the entire testing cycle within just a few days.
3. Maintaining The Regression Test Suite
- Challenge: While performing regression testing, the app developers have to store a significant amount of the regression test data to reuse in future testing instances. However, it becomes a hectic process to regularly maintain this data so that it can comply with the testing standards and the requirements of the application.
- Solution: To solve this issue, the developers need to regularly update and maintain their regression test suite. This also removes obsolete and redundant test cases to add new ones as per the changing requirements or new features in the app infrastructure.
4. Testing Accuracy and Scalability
- Challenge: Since modern apps consist of thousands of different elements, it becomes almost impossible to verify their performance using manual test cases. Moreover, manual testing is prone to errors or inefficiencies due to the limitations of a human tester.
- Solution: The developers can easily solve this problem by integrating automation testing with the regression test cases. Using this process, the system can automatically initiate the test cases after every code change in the app architecture. It also helps to constantly update the test cases to ensure that it is effective in the coming years.
5. Issues Due to Device Fragmentation
- Challenge: Since the modern mobile device market consists of thousands of devices with different operating systems, browsers, and other software parameters, it becomes almost impossible for developers to expand the compatibility of their app on all these combinations.
- Solution: The most effective solution to this problem is the inclusion of cloud-based testing. This is because modern cloud platforms like LambdaTest provide access to thousands of devices, operating systems, and browsers through their remote servers.
So, by implementing all the above strategies and continually refining testing processes, the tests can effectively tackle all the challenges of modern mobile app regression testing.
The Bottom Line
Perfectly conducting regression testing for mobile applications is one of the most important factors in the modern mobile app development industry. It is also important for developers to adopt complete automation testing to improve the efficiency and productivity of the testing environment. In this regard, the app companies can also conduct dedicated seminars and workshops to spread their required knowledge about healthy mobile app development practices. We would strongly advise the app developers that the perfect strategies for effective regression testing will depend on the mobile app that is currently being developed. So, the developers should study the app’s intentions, target audience, and development tools.
