Challenges of Enterprise-Level Mobile Testing
The growing number of apps confirms the changing scope of mobile application usage. As a mobile application developer, these shifting trends in the market present both opportunities and challenges.
Currently, there’s arguably an application for each task. Consequently, mobile application developers and testers must seek to remain relevant in the design, development, and testing. As user needs, preferences, and expectations shift, developers must work ahead to ensure that the products they launch match competing options.
Further, device fragmentation and emerging technology trends present another level of mobile testing challenges for developers. If you are an enterprise keen on undertaking mobile application testing, there will be surmountable mobile testing challenges you might need to grapple with for your enterprise to grow.
Here’re some common challenges you may need to identify and deal with as you expand your market reach.
Common Challenges of enterprise-level Mobile Testing
1. Device Fragmentation
Enterprise-level mobile testing faces a major challenge that emanates from device fragmentation. Device fragmentation occurs when a mobile application runs on multiple devices and OS combinations.
When the technical team tests compatibility on fragmented devices, they must grapple with variances in the operating systems. This is on top of having to deal with varying versions of the same operating systems. For instance, one device may have an Android Nougat 7.0 and another may have an Android Oreo 8.0.
QAs often experience notable frustrations when trying to test for each device despite their unique fragments. Before concluding that a mobile application system is relevant to the end user, the testing process must be comprehensive to ensure that all devices are compatible with the app regardless of their fragmentation.
2. Shifts in Device Models
The number of updated device models in the current market continues to grow rapidly. While this is a step in the right direction in the technological space, it presents challenges for mobile application testers.
Developers must constantly build apps that run smoothly on every device despite the recurrence of device updates. However, the existence of too many models means that mobile testing challenges will emerge with each varying configuration. In the past, it was easy to resolve these challenges using emulators and simulators.
However, the current shift in device models and the constant upgrade to more modern device options means that there could be unforeseen challenges in the overall testing process. Today, testers and QA teams must deal with this problem by testing on real devices. Such an approach helps testers address each issue that emerges from the respective devices and also finds lasting solutions.
3. Wide Array of Screen Sizes
Most mobile application testers face a common problem related to variance in screen sizes. Just as with the difference in operating systems, most modern devices come in a variety of sizes. Every mobile developer in the modern market is keen on designing a device that has a larger fancier screen. However, this constant shift towards larger screens creates a challenge for mobile phone testers who must constantly work towards matching up with shifts in screen sizes.
Sometimes, the problems that emerge when undertaking mobile application testing aren’t necessarily due to poor design and development processes. However, in some cases, it’s simply about variance in screen sizing, which affects the compatibility of the mobile applications.
It’s hard to build a consistent mobile application across multiple mobile devices. As a mobile application tester, the challenge of screen sizes is ever-present then, so it’s impossible to develop and test mobile applications for each singular mobile screen size.
4. Mobile Network Bandwidth Issues
The overall mobile design and development process shifts have further changed how QA approaches mobile application testing. Today, most mobile apps allow users to either access online or offline platforms to communicate with respective devices on the servers.
This is a better option considering that manual testing limits the user to backend storage options only. Even then, the main challenge with automated mobile application testing is the issue of mobile network bandwidth. The distance between the mobile phone and the testing server-side infrastructure can have a major impact on the outcome of the tests.
It means that QA undertaking mobile application testing must test the apps under three major bandwidth categories. These include strong, weak, and no mobile network bandwidth ranges. The testing process must also address other pertinent issues such as network diversity, memory impact, and other variations in network strength.
5. Mobile App Security
Every QA must think about app security and its evolving nature during testing. The advancements in technology mean that it may be possible for multiple security breaches to occur. In some cases, such security lapses may go unnoticed more so if the process of app testing process.
The challenge of app security can be a matter of concern for enterprises that operate within the financial sector. Indeed, testing for any security breaches in such cases requires a significant amount of information gathering and subsequent analysis. Further, considering that most mobile applications have loads of permutations, it may present numerous challenges trying to ensure adequate testing and quality assurance.
6. Unpredictable User Preferences
You’ll likely witness a mercurial user segmentation as the global tech landscape evolves. At times, it’s hard to satisfy the expectations inherent among these users. Smartphone manufacturers must constantly work towards offering variations to attract their segments of clientele.
For mobile application QAs, this creates an unprecedented challenge. The fragmented range of clientele means that there will be a constant need to test for compatibility with each shift in client expectations. The process certainly keeps the testing team on their tenterhooks.
In most cases, the mobile app testing process may take longer with extra costs. Before a QA team finally confirms that an app is compatible with all the varying needs in a market, the process involved is often complex.
7. Deadlines and User Demands
Achieving the best outcomes when undertaking mobile app testing is among the main challenges of mobile application testing. Often, QA will have to deal with clients who harbor overbearing demands. In other cases, companies present projects with strict deadlines for the delivery of the apps.
As a developer, your role is to deliver a product that surpasses a client’s core needs. As such, testing teams often have the last and most important job of quality assurance. Whether the process took longer or not at the design and development stages, it’s then up to the testing team to beat the deadlines and still meet user demands.
Such strict deadlines often limit the probability of extensive tests. As a testing team, developing constant and fast mobile app testing procedures could help minimize the limitations that come with time constraints. However, this calls for commitment and massive hours of continuous testing.
These Challenges of enterprise-level Mobile Testing are Summonable
Despite the obvious challenges of enterprise-level mobile testing, QA teams can still address such issues by moving to automated testing procedures. With the right tool, mobile app testing can be successful by using emulators. Further, using standard protocols such as the universal standard protocols is proof of successful mobile app testing.
Our team of experts at Kobiton can help you overcome these existing challenges in testing. Try Kobiton today for the best manual and automation testing solutions.
