The world of mobility is characterized by a plethora of terminals with so many diversions in screen resolution, operating systems, memory, and languages. The fact that there are around 400 mobile operators worldwide adds to this challenge: matching the compliance requirements of each operator. The complexity of integrating a mobile application with a backend system and validating them is key in today’s mobile world.
Mobile apps can be standalone or enterprise apps. Standalone applications are easy to test as they do not need to communicate with external systems, while enterprise applications are developed to perform communication-intensive tasks with external resources using HTTP or WAP protocols, further complicating the testing process .
1) The increase in mobile components demands an increase in integration testing: The increase in the demand for multiple components in a single phone means an increase in the demand for validation and integration tests. With components like messaging, media player, social networking, chat, etc. being integrated together and expected to function as a single entity, the challenge becomes pervasive.
2) B2B and B2C security testing for mCommerce and mShopping: The penetration of mobile solutions in various industries like retail, banking, entertainment, etc. has brought higher dimensions for application failures. Failures that can make or break business, for example failure to meet service providers’ security requirements and adherence to their security policies or incorrect validation of payment gateways.
3) Localization and internationalization tests: geographical limits are no longer a restriction to access clients from other parts of the world. This requires localization and internationalization testing. The mobile phone today is used more like a PC of yesteryear and should therefore be able to support multiple languages without compromising usability or user experience.
4) Device Certification Services: Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are paying more costs due to the complexity of mobile phone testing. According to IDC, vendors report that there are currently more than 1,000 discrete tests per phone per OEM per MNO, with more than 10,000 unique MNO-OEM model combinations introduced annually. Even after performing such tests, some flaws go unnoticed and are discovered after release. Ideally, it takes 3 months to complete a certification cycle. With test automation suites in place for common test procedures, vendors can reduce certification time, testing more devices and thus increasing their productivity.
5) Performance tuning for a better user experience: With limited resources and limitations like computing power and memory, performance becomes a critical milestone for any device. Performance tests are necessary to make sure the phone performs as intended in different real-life scenarios.
6) Testing with emulators: Emulators have proven to be very cost effective but extremely efficient when it comes to testing applications that are independent of device hardware and network configurations. It can be a cost saver for many companies that would otherwise have required testing apps on physical devices. However, the results must be validated using the real devices.
7) Cross-platform and cross-browser testing: It is reported that there are more than 40 browsers available for mobile devices. Each browser differs from the other in its functionality and the way images are displayed. Therefore, cross browser testing and cross platform testing becomes mandatory to ensure that the result remains the same regardless of the underlying technology platform. Also, some devices use WAP for communication while others use HTTP. Therefore, it becomes reasonable to test the applications on WAP and HTTP enabled phones.
Research reports say that the retail and BFSI sector is seeing a growing demand for mobile application testing services, especially for mCommerce and mobile-based ERP applications. In addition to this, the media and entertainment industry is next on the list. of increasing demand for mobile testing services with reference to the integration of various social networking applications and multimedia applications.
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