Application Architecture Summit

Modern Application Development for Digital Business Success

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June 8, 2023

Virtual Summit

Because consumers are always looking for faster apps with more features, software developers face constant pressure to keep pace with the demand. At the same time, consumers don’t have a tolerance for apps with less-than-stellar user experience.

Apps that are slow, crash frequently, freeze or have bugs will be quickly uninstalled by users. Meanwhile, apps with security flaws or vulnerabilities can create disastrous consequences for both consumers and organizations. 

Companies that ‘pivot’ from traditional testing to continuous testing require a significant shift in the way they perform testing. This includes processes and tools.

This ‘pivot’ starts with assessing the testing process and discovering areas of improvement. This is followed by establishing a culture of quality to help developers, stakeholders, and testers communicate and collaborate. Once these two foundational elements are in place, team members can start to identify what testing areas can be automated, and then integrate testing into the development process.

Adopting a DevOps approach helps break down silos between teams and ensures testing happens throughout the development cycle. KPIs and metrics can then be used to measure success, and while testing is being executed the process should be monitored and improved.

For companies looking to improve quality and reduce the number of errors that reach users, testing should be continuous as possible, but according to Forrester only 24% of testing is automated. Source: Forrester 2022 Application Development Benchmarks

Anatomy of Continuous Testing’s Benefits and Most ‘Critical’ Elements  

Continuous testing enables developers and QA teams to streamline and scale mobile app testing to keep up with rigorous release cycles. With continuous testing, organizations can accelerate their releases and provide better experiences for their customers. Ideally companies should employ a comprehensive mobile app testing approach that includes critical elements of security as well as function and user experience. 

Here are the top 4 most crucial elements for a successful CT environment.

1. Test automation is necessary to enable frequent and rapid testing. Using test automation allows teams to run tests continuously throughout the day to ensure that code changes do not affect the build negatively.
2. Integrating CT into the development process is important. Testing is often seen as a separate activity, but a more holistic approach is where the benefits accrue. Additionally the tools and processes used by testers must be integrated with development and CI tools for a more seamless development and testing process.
3. Feedback is essential in a CT environment. Developers need data and feedback to truly understand the quality of the code being tested. Further, testing tools need to provide fast feedback on results and defects so that these can be mitigated before becoming more complex and costly to solve.
4. In a CT environment, metrics help monitor how effective the testing process is. Test coverage, execution times, and defect rates are all important metrics that help track progress and identify areas of improvement.Many CT adopters also find the ability to create templates to save time adds value and efficiencies.  

A comprehensive strategy for testing mobile applications involves a combination of testing categories including user experience, performance, functionality, security, regression, and usability testing.

As an illustration, the best mobile app testing approach typically recommends additional factors to consider the many different factors and nuances that can affect a user’s experience with the app. A robust approach to mobile app testing oftenincludes multiple steps, device types, and environments.

Further, developers need to apply rigorous testing strategies well before a new or updated app reaches the App Store or Google Play.  Taking steps to ensure that apps are adequately tested in various stages of development can fix challenges and software issues early in the process.

Getting Started with CT, Making the ‘Pivot’ from Traditional Testing

Implementing a successful CT strategy often starts with these important guidelines:

• Use both manual and automated testing: Like software testing, comprehensive mobile app testing shouldn’t be limited to only manual testing or only automated testing. The most effective mobile app testing approach will use a combination of automated tests and manual tests, which can vary depending on the type of test being conducted.
• Test with actual devices:One crucial element of mobile app testing involves performing tests with physical mobile devices and not just simulations of devices. Testing on actual devices provides a better overview of how the app performs, the user experience, and its reliability. In addition, testing should be expanded to as many variations of iOS and Android devices as possible to cover various consumer and user preferences. Mobile testing tools that provide access to numerous types of devices are an effective solution.
• Use multiple variations and combinations: Along with different device types, consider testing multiple variations of devices with different combinations of operating systems and networks. Testing multiple variations and combinations is effective for performance and reliability testing.
• Coordinate testing: Testing must be completed in conjunction with software release orchestrations. Automated testing can help with this process.

In summary, organizations that adopt a comprehensive mobile app testing approach, alongside an advanced mobile app testing tool, can achieve faster releases of impactful mobile apps and ensure their quality – all while providing an optimal experience for the user.

Guy Arieli heads the Continuous Testing business unit for Digital.ai, where he has architected and maintains an AI-powered DevOps platform capable of generating predictive insights across the software lifecycle. Guy is a serial entrepreneur, founding two B2B software companies.