Types of Mobile Testing: How to Choose Right for Your App

Mobile devices have transformed from simple communication devices to multifunctional computing machines. One of the greatest drivers behind this transformation has been the advent of smartphones and the subsequent rise of mobile applications. As of Q3 of 2019, there had been 29.6 billion mobile app downloads in Apple and Google app stores.

These applications enable mobile devices to perform countless operations and become an integral part of our daily routine. However, mobile applications need to be fully functional to deliver value to consumers.

At the same time, mobile apps have to stay relevant in a highly-competitive market. Not only is it necessary for developers to deliver error-free mobile software, but they also need to ensure the usability, security, and quality of these applications.

Mobile testing helps mobile app developers maximize the performance of these applications. With that said, mobile testing is not a one step-operation, but rather a procedure of iterative steps that tailor the application according to user requirements.

In this article, we will discuss multiple types of mobile testing and discuss the goals and benefits of each given testing procedure.

Functional Testing

As the name suggests, functional testing is centered on the functionality of a mobile application. Therefore, during functional testing, testers need to evaluate whether the core functions of an application are performing optimally.

Functional Testing Goals

The majority of procedures in functional testing cover components that contribute to the flow of the software and along with its main purpose. For instance, if you are developing a mobile app for an e-commerce app, you will test specific features such as sign up, log in/out, add to cart, payment gateway and other specialized operations. At the same time, it’s necessary to see whether or not the app is launching as intended; graphical components are working properly, and if the application is pushing notifications as it should.

Benefits of Functional Testing

• It helps us make sure that app consumers are satisfied.
• It rules out any functional defects in the mobile application.
• We can evaluate whether all user functional requirements were met.
• It reduces the risk of bad user feedback.
• Since we test the core functions of an application, we can make sure that the application delivers value to consumers through these features.

Usability Testing

Most people know usability testing by the term user experience testing. This type of mobile testing evaluates the mobile application in terms of user-friendliness and ease-of-use.

Usability Testing Goals

In usability testing, we evaluate the mobile application through the eyes of the end-user. Therefore, we need app consumers to evaluate the application’s intuitiveness and use their feedback as insights to improve their experience while using the application. 

There is no hard-line methodology for this type of testing and QA testers often leverage their understanding of the user needs to see whether the application is up to the mark. Therefore, it’s essential to evaluate the response time of the application, its user-friendliness, as well as its layout and design.

Since the testing procedure can be subjective depending on the tester, it’s ideal to construct feedback forms and test scripts for understanding the preferences of targeted users.

Benefits of Usability Testing

• Design experts can focus on the key requirements from the end user’s perspective
• If the team disagrees with a particular design, they can reaffirm the best choice by asking the users directly
• We can detect potential issues before we launch the mobile app on the market
• It ensures that the front-end design is attractive and consumers are able to utilize the product effectively
• The likelihood of product failure is reduced
• Project teams are left with mobile applications optimized for maximum performance and high usability

Compatibility Testing

Compatibility testing is the type of mobile app testing that focuses on the non-functional aspects of the application. As the name suggests, the procedure measures the compatibility of mobile apps against specific software, network, and hardware requirements.

Goals of Compatibility Testing

In compatibility testing, we must make that the mobile app works seamlessly across different operating systems, browsers, and hardware makes and models. Therefore, the testing team would see the compatibility of the application across OS such as Android, iOS, and Windows, as well as hardware specifications and changing networks and their parameters.

Benefits of Compatibility Testing

• It helps developers address issues related to the interoperability of mobile applications between different platforms
• It plays a key role in developing non-native mobile applications
• Developers can detect errors in mobile applications before it reaches users
• Since it addresses problems related to compatibility of app features across different mobile platforms, it can significantly reduce the future help desk cost
• It optimizes the performance of applications across different network settings, hardware, and software platforms
• It helps us test the usability, scalability, and stability of mobile applications
• It is directly related to the usability of the application. If done right, it can maximize user satisfaction from the application

Performance and Load Testing

Performance testing is meant to evaluate how mobile apps function under a particular workload of users. It helps testers ensure that the application doesn’t malfunction during its operation.

Performance and Load Testing Goals

Performance and load testing are directly related to the effect of user load on the performance of the mobile application. Therefore, when we conduct performance and load testing, we try to detect device performance issues as memory and battery consumption by the mobile application as well as the start-up and response time of the application.

At the same time, you can use this mobile app testing type to check the performance of the network and the under a specific user load. Therefore, it should detect issues related to errors and delays during data retrieval and the speed of data transfer.

Benefits of Performance and Load Testing

• It helps us ensure that the application I performing its core operations effectively
• We can evaluate the accuracy, stability, and speed of the mobile app
• Performance and load testing help developing teams maximize user satisfaction
• It identifies the core problems related to the performance of the mobile app and helps teams resolve them
• It enhances the optimization and load capability of the mobile application

Security Testing

The level of security in a mobile app is fundamental to its success. Security testing helps developing teams evaluate the authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality of the mobile app.

Goals of Security Testing

The reason why software testers conduct security testing is that they need to identify the potential vulnerabilities and threats a mobile application can have. It’s necessary to resolve these potential security risks to safeguard the personal data of its users.

Therefore, the security testing procedure of mobile apps must be able to detect complex security risks that are not apparent in the source code. Unless you identify the location of these vulnerabilities, there is no use finding them out. This is it’s essential to identify the precise location of these defects during security testing.

Benefits of Security Testing

• It ensures that the mobile application and safe and secure for its end users
• It helps businesses counter data loss and thwarts attempts for data theft
• If you detect security vulnerabilities of a mobile app in the early stages, it can result in significant benefits to the business, mostly in cost-saving
• It helps detect fatal flaws in the mobile application design
• By performing security testing during development, it is easier to set up a robust testing environment and uncover underlying security risks
• It helps teams identify vulnerabilities before they become security risks

Installation Testing

Installation testing refers to the testing procedure for evaluating the installation and removal process of the mobile app.

Goals of Installation Testing

Installation of the mobile app is the user’s first encounter with the end product. Therefore, any error during this procedure can discourage the user from using the application. The main objective of installation testing needs to be an uninterrupted and error-free installation of your mobile app. With that said, the procedure should also include the scenarios of when users don’t update a particular application.

Benefits of Installation Testing

• It verifies that all modules, sections, and versions of the mobile app are checked
• It checks whether the installation process of a particular mobile app follows the standards of its respective client and industry
• If the installation process goes smoothly, there is a great chance the rest of the operations will be in good shape
• It helps us test whether all versions can install and function on devices optimally

Localization Testing

Localization testing refers to the process of evaluating whether the UI or graphical of a mobile app suits the language, culture or device accessibility of a particular region.

Goals of Localization Testing

App users are known to avoid using mobile apps that don’t align with their language and cultural preferences. This can happen when the mobile app fails to translate its content to other languages successfully.

Therefore, localization testing is essential for evaluating whether an application has the ability to translate to multiple languages. Alternatively, the same rule can be applied to the conversion of local currencies in an app and as well as local legal requirements and regulations.

Benefits of Localization Testing

• It helps mobile app development teams access a wider range of users
• It gives project teams an edge over competitors that don’t leverage localization features for greater user experience
• It helps teams deliver high-quality software to the market
• It can make sure that the mobile app aligns with local date, time, and other regional parameters
• It helps boost the adoption rate of mobile apps in particular regions
• Localization testing can help businesses in being recognized as global brands

Manual Testing

Manual testing the type of mobile app testing that utilizes human experience to evaluate the functionalities of software systems thoroughly.

Goals of Manual Testing

We can boost the testing process of mobile apps with the help of automated testing procedures. However, it isn’t possible to automate every testing operation. Sometimes, test automation can degrade the thoroughness of the testing procedure and minimize its effectiveness.

In such cases, we need to use manual testing to make sure that the final product operates as intended. Usually, manual testing utilized where test cases are not obvious and it isn’t possible to automate the procedure, and we need to perform complex tests. At the same time, this mobile app testing type can help teams during exploratory testing and physical interface tests.

Benefits of Manual Testing

• It helps us evaluate the core components of a mobile application more effectively and at a lower short-term cost
• While evaluating the effectiveness of user interface, manual tests fare better than automated tests
• While deploying manual tests, it isn’t necessary to make huge changes in the codebase for minor fixes in the mobile app
• Manual tests can replicate UX on mobile apps
• Manual testing can help testers find extremely complex testing anomalies more effectively

Automated Testing

Automated testing refers to the testing procedure where testers automate the testing process of mobile apps with the help of scripts.

Goals of Automated Testing

Automated testing is helpful in cases where the testing process is either too complex for human testers or when it is too mundane and tedious. This mobile application testing type is mostly used alongside automated testing and plays a key role in delivering high-quality software.

Automated testing can include the process of designing, maintenance, and construction of effective testing scripts. At the same time, it can also integrate or align existing workflows in a business. Furthermore, we can analyze and resolve noisy tests and extensively review all our test results.

Benefits of Automated Testing

• Automated testing helps software teams to use testing resources productively
• It enables teams to transform the testing procedure and make it fast and efficient
• It minimizes the chances of human error testing processes and oftentimes leads to more accurate error detection
• You can identify more bugs through automated testing than manual testing
• Automated tests are reusable and can save a considerable amount of time and cost in the long term

Mobile Testing Service in PFLB

There are several mobile testing types for mobile apps and each one of these methods can have a significant impact on the performance and success of a mobile application. Mobile testing maximizes the performance, capability, and quality of a mobile app while validating its core functions. This is why you need to trust a reliable mobile testing service for the best results.

PFLB is a software testing service that has experience of serving over 500 companies across all domains, from finance and healthcare to retail and technology. With years of experience at their disposal, they can ensure that your mobile application delivers the highest quality and outperforms competing applications. Besides Mobile Application Testing, the company has expertise in other core software testing services, such as Performance Testing, Test Automation, and much more.