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Home Guide How To Choose The Right Mobile App Testing Tools

How To Choose The Right Mobile App Testing Tools

By Shreya Bose, Community Contributor -

There’s an app for everything. Still, there’s not necessarily a good app for everything. Modern customers and digital users want to get done through apps – shopping, doctor’s appointments, dating, fitness classes, etc. However, they will not stand for shoddy, superficially developed, and tested apps with inadequate features, bad UI, and sloppy UX offerings. They don’t have to because they can simply uninstall the app and find a new one – and remember, they are spoilt for choice.

Comprehensive mobile app testing ensures that an app is up to customer standards. You need to run tests in different environments similar to those the apps will run in when in the hands of end-users. To do so, you’ll need the right mobile app testing tool.

With the number of paid and open-source tools in the market, picking a mobile app testing tool can bewilder the selectors, especially those new to the field. This article lays out a few salient points that every test manager, tester, or otherwise stakeholder should consider when evaluating and deciding on the right mobile app testing software.

Things to consider while Selecting a Mobile App Testing Tool

1. Access to Real Mobile Devices

It doesn’t matter what kind of app you are testing. You need to test it on real mobile devices and monitor how the app functions in real user conditions to be able to release it into production. Emulators and simulators cannot replicate real-world situations in their entirety (especially regarding incoming calls, battery strength, network strength, etc.), which means tests run on them are not dependable enough to carry a final release.

Now, you can create an in-house mobile device lab with the latest and oldest mobile installed with different versions of different operating systems. But you’ll need to keep purchasing newer devices, maintain existing devices, buy, download, and install relevant operating systems, test frameworks, and the like. This requires a formidable amount of time, human effort, and financial investment.

It’s much easier to use cloud-based mobile app testing tools like BrowserStack. Easily run manual app testing and automated app testing on the latest mobile devices, installed with multiple versions of popular operating systems. Also, run responsive testing on real mobile devices to check how your app renders on different screen sizes and resolutions.

App Live Dashboard - Mobile app testing

Run Mobile App Tests on Real Devices 

2. Integrations with App Testing Frameworks & Tools

Mobile application testing tools worth investing in will do everything possible to make devs’ and testers’ lives easier. When choosing among cloud-based mobile testing tools, look for one that offers integrations with commonly used tools and frameworks. After purchasing a mobile app usability testing tool, you don’t want to spend more time downloading and installing resources that should be common sense for your tool to provide.

BrowserStack offers integrations with app testing frameworks and CI/CD tools such as:

App Live Integrations

3. Build Security

The best mobile testing tools pay attention to their customers’ data and build security. Given the collaborative nature of modern app development and testing, build distribution increases the chances of some unauthorized individuals gaining access to an app in its most vulnerable stages.

The same is true for all your personal or company data – anything that the testing tool may have access to, such as your customers’/testers’/devs’ data or confidential, in-company data such as email IDs of management personnel. Thoroughly test that the mobile app automation tools you are evaluating have a history of solid data security. They should also regularly upgrade their systems for protection against Newer viruses, malware, and the like.

BrowserStack security is SOC2 Type 2 compliant for both – its data centers and test platform. Its infra is audited periodically to check if data is managed securely and ensure privacy protection. HTTPS is a default implementation at BrowserStack. It is also GDPR compliant.

Most importantly, every device used to run tests on the BrowserStack Cloud is brand new. Each test is run on a phone with factory settings. Once a test is complete, every last bit of data is automatically eliminated. 

4. Test Reporting, Error Capturing & Debugging

When it comes to app tests, you need a tool that can capture test failures and create reports that pinpoint that moment of failure and provide all possible data to help devs resolve the errors. For example, if a test fails, reports must be generated that mention the exact step where the test failed, along with comprehensive info about the environment and test conditions at the time of failure.

Whatever Android app testing tool or iOS app testing tool you choose should be able to create detailed, meticulous reports of test results. They should be able to take Screenshots and snapshots of particular steps in a test. Reports should be exportable in different formats so that individuals can view them on different devices, tools, and OSes. 

BrowserStack provides a wide range of debugging tools for app tests (manual & automated):

  • App Live: Real-time Device Logs from Logcat or Console
  • App Automate: Screenshots, Video Recording, Video-Log Sync, Text Logs, Network Logs, Appium Logs, Device Logs, App Profiling

5. Support for Continuous Testing

As part of the Agile development technique, the mobile app testing software of your choice supports CI/CD pipelines. In particular, they should be built to facilitate Continuous Testing. Continuous testing is an integral part of the continuous integration and deployment pipeline in DevOps. The process of Continuous Integration and delivery requires Continuous Testing.

You cannot compete in a speed-driven world without Continuous Testing because no other technique allows teams to match customer demands for speed and quality. Embracing Continuous Testing involves running tests from the initial stages of development and at every branch in the pipeline.

However, to run continuous practical tests, teams must test on the right staging environments to replicate the production server. Manually configuring such staging environments involves a lot of time, money, and work. Once again, it is much easier to use a real device cloud, such as the one provided by BrowserStack.

Access Real Device Cloud for Free

6. Support for Different Testing Techniques

The testing tool you choose should be regularly updated to support and facilitate newer forms of app testing. For example, any tool you purchase in 2022 must support accessibility testing. Look for mobile app accessibility testing tools that consider different human disabilities and the legal compliance guidelines that require software to be usable by individuals with specific impairments. The tool should be able to support future releases and trends, with the latest updates.

Closing Notes

Choosing manual or automation mobile testing tools goes beyond the six detailed points. However, they will serve as a solid foundation for building your list of requirements. Converse with and get insights from stakeholders across technical and business functions so that the tool you eventually pick will satisfy goals across verticals and keep most people satisfied. And most importantly, test on real mobile devices.

Incase, you are still confused, reach out to our team who can help guide you in this selection process.

Tags
Fragmentation Mobile App Testing Mobile Testing Types of Testing

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