What are the criteria to Select Mobile Application Testing Tools?

Mobile applications are becoming increasingly popular with the end-users as they can be accessed on smartphones while on the go. However, the adoption of such applications by users depends on various factors, chiefly among them being the user experience they provide. Users want the mobile applications to perform seamlessly across device platforms with different screen sizes and resolutions, operating systems, and browsers, among others. To ensure the same, mobile application testing needs to be conducted in the Agile-DevOps mold by leveraging test automation. This is important to achieve frequent deployments with faster time to market. Mobile test automation can be achieved by using tools and frameworks that are available in the market. However, these should be chosen with care by considering several factors.

Criteria to select tools for mobile application testing

The various factors to be considered while selecting the appropriate mobile testing tools are as follows:

Targeted platform: The tool for testing mobile applications should be compatible with the platform and its variants and versions on which the application is supposed to function. At the same time, the tool chosen should be able to provide cross-platform testing as well instead of just one platform to save cost and effort.

Security and privacy: Since the code build is highly confidential and critical for the business, it should not be shared or exported outside the test environment. The mobile app testing tool should maintain the security and privacy of the code and not share it with any unauthorized entity.

Continuous testing: The tool chosen for mobile test automation should be able to execute continuous testing a la Agile and DevOps. This way the tool would be able to evaluate the impact of any changes made to the code.

Documentation and Reporting: The tool to conduct mobile application QA testing should be able to generate results on the dashboard and allow testers to document them. The results showing log defects can then be shared with the management to get further insights into the app under development.

Third-party integration: Mobile applications are connected to several third-party APIs to deliver specific outcomes for the users. These APIs may include the payment gateways, social media platforms, web editors, and bug trackers, among others. The tool selected should be able to test the integration of any third-party platform with the application, especially the APIs.

Scaling and automation: The mobile app test automation tool should be able to create automated test bots, run parallel tests, and perform distributed tests, among others. It should allow virtualization to simulate scores of virtual users and enable usability testing thereon.

Root cause analysis: The tool should be able to perform a root cause analysis by taking into consideration details such as crash logs, system metrics, screenshots, and clicks, among others. Such analysis can help testers to understand why a certain feature or functionality is not performing as expected.

User interface: The tool should have an attractive, clear, and simple user interface. This can help testers to understand and analyze loads of data generated by the tool. A clutter-free presentation of data helps to accelerate the process of testing and meet the overall goals of quick development and deployment.

Usability: The tool supporting the mobile application testing approach should be easy to use and be compatible with the technology in use through frequent upgrades.

Support for multiple programming languages: Any mobile app test automation tool runs on the basis of a script written in a specific programming language. The tool to test a mobile application should be able to support multiple scripting languages. This enables the QA team to write scripts in a language they are proficient in. And since the outcome of testing can determine the application’s adoption in the market, the tool should be able to catch as many bugs or vulnerabilities as possible. This requires testers to write a powerful script in a language they are comfortable with.

Availability of scriptless options: With the growing complexity of mobile applications and the demand to deploy them in the shortest possible time, testers may find it challenging to write scripts quickly. So, why not select a tool that can create tests without coding. The testers have to merely place some parameters and the tool generates the necessary test automation script.

Integration with CI/CD tools: The mobile application testing tool should allow seamless integration with CI/CD tools and in turn, deliver a better user experience.

Conclusion

The success of any mobile application in the market owes a lot to the level of testing it had undergone. This underlines the importance of using automated mobile application testing tools in the grander scheme of things. However, the tools selected should be based on certain criteria to ensure comprehensive, quick, and seamless testing.

James Daniel is a software Tech enthusiastic & works at Cigniti Technologies I'm having a great understanding of today's software testing quality