Are you in the process of developing a mobile app? Whether you’re releasing across several mobile platforms or exclusively for iOS or Android, it’s important that you run several key QA tests to analyze your app for bugs, mistakes and quality issues before you release it.
The reason is simple: it’s far easier to test your app and fix problems before you release it than after. Find and fix bugs, performance issues and other problems early and you save yourself a costly, frustrating process in fixing bugs after your users find them for you.
Below, we’ve listed five QA tests you need to put your mobile app through before release. Whether you’re just getting started on a new project and want to start QA testing right from the beginning of development or about to release, make sure you carry out each of these five vital tests.
Usability Tests
How easy is your app to use? As a developer, it’s easy to assume that every user has the same knowledge of your app’s design and functions as you do. This can lead to usability issues where processes that are obvious to you but frustrating and difficult for users.
Complex forms, unusual page layouts and vague wording can all cause confusion for users. In many cases, this confusion is enough for them to switch from your application to an alternative, often leaving a bad review in the process.
Usability matters, especially when your app lives within the small dimensions of a smartphone’s screen. From difficult-to-push buttons to confusing layouts, make sure you test each part of your app for optimal usability before you release it to lower the number of confused, frustrated users.
Emulator Stress Tests
How well does your app perform under pressure? One of the most common mistakes when running QA tests that developers make is only testing their application in optimal conditions, usually a new device with few, if any, demanding applications running in the background.
Emulators allow you to virtualize certain mobile devices and subject your app to stresses that go far beyond what it will usually encounter. You can force it to run with very little memory, or run it alongside hundreds of other apps to assess its ability to perform in a tough situation.
Ultimately, emulator tests are flawed. They test your app in a “perfect” simulation that might not match real-life conditions. However, they’re great for finding and fixing performance issues that could affect your app in the real world before you release it to end users.
Physical Device Tests
One of the most important aspects of running QA tests is closely replicating the conditions real users of your app will experience. Physical device tests, which use real end user hardware, allow you to quickly gain insights into how your app performs in the real world.
Physical device tests help you discover problems with specific hardware/software combinations, such as older model smartphones or tablets. You can optimize for the most widely used devices and quickly discover and eliminate bugs that affect the largest amount of users.
Many developers shy away from physical device testing because of the costs and time involved in testing on a diverse range of devices. MyCrowd QA, our on-demand crowdtesting platform lets you access more than 18,000 devices for real-life testing, keeping the cost of physical device testing low.
Resource Tests
Is your app a resource hog? It’s important that your app is optimized for any and device and OS, even older devices with limited resources. If your app slows down a user’s device or drains their battery, it’s unlikely to get a positive reception.
Resource testing involves checking that your app isn’t overusing memory through inefficiencies or generating overly large files. It also involves simple, low level tests like making sure your app properly releases memory and doesn’t create useless, space-consuming junk files.
From memory leaks to excessive battery consumption, resource-related annoyances that aren’t technically “bugs” can still annoy end users. Resource testing lets you find them and nip them in the bud before your app’s release, saving users from an annoying experience.
Security Tests
Does your app handle sensitive information like a user’s identity or password? If so, it’s vital to check that this information is handled securely using modern encryption techniques that make unauthorized access impossible.
If your app creates new files on the user’s device, are they secure? Is there any way for other, unauthorized users to access them? If your app stores a user’s login information, is it properly encrypted and stored securely?
Even the most mundane apps can become targets for hackers eager to gain a user’s personal information and stumble onto a universal password. Security testing helps you find and fix any holes in your app before they’re discovered and exploited by the wrong people.
100% of our tests find bugs — ready to find out where your bugs are? Start a test at MyCrowd QA today.
