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Automating Mobile App testing 1

Automating Mobile App testing

With the abundance of mobile connections in today’s world, automating mobile app testing would only be the next logical step. Developers are aware of the tedious work that goes behind this process. Read on to acquire all the details regarding the same.

With more than 10.97 billion mobile connections worldwide, there is an increasing need for sophisticated, high-performance B2B and B2C mobile apps. The worldwide mobile app industry has been expanding at a rate of over 11.5% per year, with a market value of over $154.06 billion. The COVID-19 shift to remote work and the increase in online time usage have further driven this growth.

Expectations are high in this mobile-first environment, and there is zero tolerance for bugs or performance difficulties in mobile apps, whether they be SaaS products, loyalty apps, or e-Commerce apps.

The best ways to test mobile apps, including the best test cases to automate and how to choose the best framework for mobile automation testing, will be discussed in this article.

Why should you be Automating Mobile App Testing?

Testing mobile apps more quickly and comprehensively across platforms and test scenarios requires automation. Even though automating mobile app testing is notoriously difficult, most test cases can be done in this way.

Setup Mobile Automation Testing Goals

Let’s study manual mobile app testing vs Automated Mobile App Testing.

Manual Mobile App Testing Automated Mobile App Testing
Human performs the tests step by step, without test scripts Executed automatically via test automation frameworks, along with other tools and software
Testing is time-consuming Testing is time-saving
Entirely manual tasks Most tasks can be automated, including real user simulations
Difficult to ensure sufficient test coverage Easy to ensure greater test coverage

Automation aims to improve the effectiveness, in terms of both time and expense, and quality of your mobile app testing. Always keep in mind these two primary objectives while determining which test case types are eligible for automation:

  • Can I save time by automating this test case?
  • Will automating this test case improve my app’s functionality or quality?

Planning Test Cases

Unit tests, functional tests, and integration tests are the types of mobile app test cases that are automated frequently.

Here are the 3 types of test cases to automate:

  1. Unit Testing

The fastest testing method is unit testing. These tests are usually inexpensive to correct, highly reusable, and simpler to troubleshoot.

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  1. Integration Testing

Integration testing ensures that all modules and interfaces function as intended. When these tests are automated, the testing process is sped up and feedback is received more rapidly.

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  1. Functional Testing

Functional testing is another testing category that should be given priority for automation. You can evaluate how well your app works across different devices, operating systems, and other differences by automating functional UI testing. 

Selecting a Test Automation Framework

Once you’ve decided which test cases you want to automate, the following step is to choose the ideal automation framework or integrated system which establishes the automation guidelines for your test. Consider the test automation framework to be the best method for writing and evaluating your tests. Below are the top six frameworks for automated mobile app testing.

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Mobile Automation Frameworks

  1. Linear Automation Framework
  2. Modular-Based Testing Framework
  3. Library Architecture Testing Framework
  4. Data-Driven Framework
  5. Keyword-Driven Framework
  6. Hybrid Testing Framework

Mobile Application Testing Checklist

The factors you can consider when selecting a mobile app testing tool are:

  • OS support (iOS/ Android/ Windows)
  • Type of tests supported (unit tests, regression tests, functional tests, etc.)
  • Easy-to-use, which includes script-less test creation, simple tutorials, clear reporting
  • Integration with existing CI/CD tools
  • Cost and scalability

Selecting the Right Automation Testing Tool

We can write test scripts using one or more of the above test automation frameworks with the use of mobile automation testing tools. A basic awareness of the frameworks will assist to ensure you acquire the proper tool for the job at hand, even though it is not required to fully comprehend them to select the best mobile testing tool.

Top Mobile Testing Tools to Choose

  1. Appium

A versatile, open-source tool called Appium is highly suited for black box testing of native iOS, Android, or Windows apps, as well as hybrid and mobile web apps since it uses numerous languages and frameworks. Although Appium makes it simple to reuse test cases across platforms, testing may be slower or less accurate when using Appium.

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  1. Google Espresso

Espresso is designed particularly for Android, Java, and white box testing and UI tests. It is made by Google.

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3.XCTest & XCUITest

Swift/Objective C, Apple’s XCTest, and XCUITest leverage libraries for iOS testing, and it is suited for white box testing.

4. Robotium

Robotium is an open-source application which is designed specifically for Android. It supports grey and black box testing. Since this testing offers advantages but has stalled in recent years.

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Executing Your Mobile App Tests

You’ll need to make a few choices once you’ve chosen a framework and are prepared to run your tests.

The first has to do with the kinds of testing platforms you’ll use. Will you run your tests on actual hardware or simulated hardware like emulators and simulators? Or you will combine the two?

Virtual Devices vs Real Devices

Both the hardware and the operating system will be subjected to extensive mobile app testing. However, testing mobile devices is impossible due to the wide range of mobile device types and setups. Let’s take Apple for example – while it may be great to test on actual mobile devices, testing on several  generations of smartphones, with several models in each generation may practically prove to be very difficult. 

Best practices advise testing on at least one of each target device to be realistic, with the remaining testing being done on virtual devices (known as simulators or emulators). With a little reduction in accuracy, virtual devices may emulate many features of actual devices more quickly and cost-effectively.

Testing Infrastructure

Your next consideration for test execution is whether to execute tests in the cloud or on the premises. It is recommended to test in a cloud-based environment for several reasons. It offers the team more flexibility and other benefits.

  • Accessible from anywhere for globally dispersed teams
  • 24/7 availability
  • Clouds are easier to scale
  • Help you extend test coverage
  • Faster way to access new releases
  • More secure than on-prem solutions

Conclusion

You may start creating your test cases even before you start working on your mobile app. With this strategy in mind, you can start testing your mobile app early and frequently to shorten the time it takes to market and boost performance overall. You may integrate comments and work on developing your app faster if your mobile app testing is more focused and structured.

 

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Subhojit Hazra

Subhojit Hazra

He is a tech enthusiast and a passionate marketer with an eye for detail. He loves to uncomplicate things and debate on business problems. A quiet guy who likes peaceful evenings and iced coffees.

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