Over the last decade, the use of mobile phones has increased drastically. Statistics show that smartphone users will surpass the billion mark in 2040. With such large numbers, the mobile app testing challenges faced by the backend team will only increase, and it is difficult to imagine the hassle that will come their way.
Mobile app testing is essential in creating a product that meets the necessary standards. If your application does not undergo extensive testing, it will significantly affect its position in the market. Users will take no time to delete your application and switch to your competitor if it has bugs or hangs while working. Several automation testing tools are available in the market that can help you test your application before it reaches the users.
These tools simplify the testing process and increase efficiency, repeatability, and reliability. However, there are also some challenges that one may face while using them.
This article will take you through the challenges faced during automation testing and what can be done to avoid them.
Common Challenges in Mobile Test Automation
Automated mobile app testing is a process in which software tools are used to test mobile applications. It has several benefits, like faster testing, cost saving, and improved accuracy, but the testing team has to overcome various challenges we have discussed below.
Platform Fragmentation
Platform fragmentation can cause significant challenges for testers. Compatibility issues are one of the most critical issues caused by platform fragmentation. The app may perform differently on various platforms due to the operating systems, devices, and version variations. It’s also possible that test automation scripts created for one platform won’t function on another. As a result, the tester has to create multiple test scripts for different platforms, which can be time-consuming. Cloud-based automated testing tools provide access to various testing devices and platforms. With the help of these products, testers can quickly and easily test their applications across several platforms without having to set up a testing environment.
Device Fragmentation
Besides platform fragmentation, device fragmentation is a significant challenge in mobile automation testing. With so many different screen sizes, hardware configurations, and resolutions testing a mobile application on all these devices is essential to ensure its performance. The significant impacts of device fragmentation are increased testing costs along with hardware compatibility issues and difficulties in device-specific testing.
UI Interface
Testing the application on different user interfaces is one of the biggest challenges in automated mobile app testing. Mobile applications must be created and tested for various platforms and device types, each with a different combination of screen dimensions, resolutions, and aspect ratios. Hence, mobile app testers must consider these variances to guarantee that the app functions properly and is aesthetically pleasing across all device kinds and platforms. They must also ensure the app’s user interface (UI) is tailored to each platform and the device’s screen size and resolution.
Testing across different networks
A mobile application must be tested on networks like 2G, 3G, 4G, and even WiFi because each network possesses unique performance attributes that significantly influence the operational efficiency of applications. Therefore, testing the application on all networks is crucial to ensure it works perfectly under all circumstances.
Variety of Testing Tools
With the number of automation testing tools mushrooming in the market, selecting the best and most optimized tools according to your requirements can take time and effort. Determining which automation tool is compatible with which operating system and devices is a critical challenge the backend team must overcome. Because various factors such as project requirements, team expertise, and budget play a crucial role in the selection procedure.
How to avoid the Mobile Test Automation Challenges
Mobile test automation can present several challenges, and here is what you can do to avoid them:
Mobile App Emulators
Emulators can assist in avoiding platform fragmentation difficulties associated with automated mobile app testing. It allows testers to create and run automated mobile app testing scripts on several platforms Without the need for actual hardware. As a result, testers no longer need a massive inventory of devices, lowering the overall testing cost. Other benefits include reliable and accurate tests and the capability to test the application under different conditions, such as varying network speeds and signal strengths.
Develop a Test Strategy
Creating a comprehensive test strategy is essential to overcoming the challenges of mobile app test automation issues. It includes specifying the objectives, choosing the best automation testing tools, determining the testing scope, outlining the test cases, choosing the devices, and choosing the appropriate testing environment. The testing tool must be cloud-based that support cross-platform testing. The comprehensive test strategy is incomplete without defining the test cases that cover device-specific features, such as camera, GPS, and accelerometer.
Conclusion
Businesses can overcome automated testing challenges using pCloudy, a cloud-based testing platform that allows them to test on real devices rather than emulators or simulators. Even though they are helpful, emulators and simulators cannot precisely mimic the behavior of real devices. Thus testing on actual devices is crucial. pCloudy offers a wide range of products, including Device Lab, Browser Lab, and others, and has over 5000 device and browser combinations, making it the perfect choice for companies looking to streamline their automated mobile app testing.
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