Testing Tips

At a recent Mobile Testing & Experience Summit hosted by Kobiton, one of many key speakers was our own Senior Solutions Engineer, Billy Cabrera. It was a valuable talk, and I’m glad that we can share some of it here. Below, a summarized recap of this great conversation. To enjoy the full program, watch MTES on demand.

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“This session is dedicated to making the most of your tech stack,” Cabrera began. “We’re gonna cover some tips and tricks. I’m gonna get into our platform to show you live, what that solution can look like.

“Because if you’re here,” he said, “you want to learn how to make the most of your efforts in mobile, across your tech deck.”

Cabrera’s infectious enthusiasm for the testing mindset made for an enjoyable exchange, and the time went by quickly.

To enjoy the full program, watch MTES on demand.

Let’s begin our recap.

Find a Platform That Won’t Slow You Down

“One of the first steps that we like to talk about is really finding a platform that’s not going to slow you down,” Cabrera said, about the importance of understanding whether a simulator or platform (or real device) is the move to consider.

“You want to be able to mirror what goals you have, with the platform that can support that,” he said.

It’s also important, he added, to understand the scope of what you’re testing for. “It’s a huge issue, as well as a challenge, because there are a lot of sort of pitfalls: There’s so much device fragmentation, you have so many of these device vendors, all of them with different software that comes with the devices, that might cause issues down the line. You don’t want those types of challenges,” Cabrera said. “Obviously, that’s why we’re testing them.”

Finding the platform, and defining that scope, are his first tips for better mobile testing.

Test Across Multiple Devices

“At Kobiton, we have real, physical devices that allow us to curate the type of devices, and the scope, that represents your business’ needs,” Cabrera said.

The popularity of specific devices changes, however, and Cabrera noted that it’s important to include in your scope which devices target users might be most accustomed to. Older models, for example, might have encountered bugs that new models will not.

Pay Attention to Device Stats

Next, Cabrera told us that testers “might have some specific metrics … to find success.”

On that point, he offered an example. By sharing a screenshot, we were able to see reams of code populate the right-hand side of his screen.

“If we look to the right of our platform, right off the bat, we’re probably getting a lot of attention at this scroll here,” he said, “and those are the actual logs, or the exhaust pipe, clearly of this S21 that I have up running. Now that log readout is a great way for you to do. A lot of investigation as to what’s working or what isn’t working with this specific test.

“When we’re looking at success criteria,” he added, “the specific KPIs, maybe your application writes to a lock that lets you know of a specific function that’s succeeded, or maybe you’re looking for a specific output. Being able to find those, whether it is in the middle of this actual session, this manual session or later down the road, is super important the exact same way that maybe pulling in some of these metrics is also equally important.”

To put it simply: Pay attention to stats so that you don’t “choke” your actual users’ phones.

Don’t Forget About Accessibility!

“I personally love accessibility,” said Cabrera, touting the fact that Kobiton has features for accessibility testing built right in. “It’s an important dimension of that success criteria. This is something you want to get into your site as soon as possible,” he explained.

One big benefit of Kobiton is the ability to generate results with accessibility “fully considered,” he told us. Elements such as individual colors and related contrast issues are just one example.

“We want to test early and test often,” Carbrera reminded us, “and clearly have a platform that lets you do it.”

Automate and Drive Efficiency

Everything shared here is presented as its own testing step, we were told. Now, it’s time to translate that into an automated script.

“There’s two ways to do it,” Cabrera explained. “There is super-super easy export functionality of an Appium script. It’s as simple as exporting that app script.

“And again, the importance of a platform that plays well with your environment in your tech stack comes to show its head again here, where you obviously want to be able to use the script in the language or the framework that you are most familiar with,” he said.

“You are absolutely able to do that here, and if you’re not an Appium household, that’s still fine because we have the ability to rerun this test across any of the devices in our device bar,” Carbrera said.

“That install gets started next and needs to be slapped across other devices — it’s as easy as selecting which devices you want to be able to test on. I have the ability to automate those steps without even writing a line of code.”

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To developers, Cabrera summed up,  if it’s there, if it’s your responsibility, then find a platform that blends seamlessly in your tech stack.

“That’s the real pro tip folks: Get the tool that not just achieves what you’re looking to do, also helps you grow and mature within your mobile application, testing, and framework.”

Billy Cabrera, senior solutions engineer at Kobiton

Check out our previous MTES recaps:

• A Day of Mobile Testing Excellence
• Mobile Center of Excellence: AT&T Shares Insights Into Optimizing Testing Infrastructure
• Shifting Left: WeightWatchers’ Approach to Mobile Development
• Accessibility for All
• Automation Insights from Farm Life
• Unveiling New Horizons: Partner Panel
• Mobile Gaming with Kobiton and Gamedriver

To enjoy the full program, watch MTES on demand.