7 Factors to Consider While Developing Mobile Apps

Introduction: Mobile Apps

Whether you love it or hate, you can’t ignore the growing presence of mobile Apps. By 2017, the total number of App users is expected to cross 4.4 billion. With everyone from kids to grown-ups, getting hooked to Apps, it is no surprise that today, a majority of enterprises have begun investing in creating business Apps not just for their consumers but also for their employees.

When the competition is so high, the benchmark in terms of user expectation for the App quality is super high as well. One glitch, and you lose the user’s interest. To ensure zero glitches, it is wise to invest in App testing at every stage of development. Unlike testing traditional desktop Apps, mobile App testing is pretty complex and challenging.

1. The winning User-interface

7 Factors To Consider While Developing Mobile Apps

The first impression, an App leaves is the visible user interface it presents to its users. The general objective is to tailor the UI to the target audience needs. It is always good to keep the UI, simple and easy to use.

One of the best ways to understand user response is to go for user-interface crowd testing. This will not only help you understand the initial response and feedback from real users in real world conditions but also give you the flexibility to test your App with users from different locations as well.

2. Functionality and usability factors

A Mobile App is highly user centric, and the quality of your App’s user experience will determine its success. Ensure that your App does the expected with functionality and usability testing.

As both functionality and usability testing is driven by user interface, human or manual testing works best in getting the real insights.

3. Compatibility Challenge

The same App may have different outcomes on devices of different screen sizes, on different platforms and browsers. You have to recreate test scenarios with real users, in real time, on real devices, using real platforms to understand what works best and fix the things that do not work. The objective is to ensure that the App works well on different devices, operating on different platforms like Android and IOS the same way as expected out of it.

In the case of devices, developers need to factor in the impact on battery life, the RAM used, and the CPU processing power of different devices. Using traditional testing mechanisms to cover these aspects is not only expensive but also difficult. Testing on real devices can never be replicated by emulators. The simplest and most cost effective solution to combat the issue of compatibility is to invest in crowd-sourced App testing. Getting real insights on the way your App works will enable you to make smarter decisions to improve your App performance across devices, browsers and platforms.

4. Internet bandwidth and other external Factors

You need to understand the impact of internet bandwidth on your App’s quality. Based on how good or bad the internet connection is, application behavior will be different for different users. You could lose your sales by 1% for every 100 milliseconds of load time. Most users won’t wait for longer than 3 seconds for a page to load.

Additionally, a mobile App in real world conditions is prone to interruptions like lack of coverage and incoming calls. It is difficult to reproduce the fluctuating conditions due to network and location in a lab. The simplest way to forecast and fix these issues is through crowd-sourced performance and interrupt testing that will enable you to understand the impact of interruptions like incoming calls and network fluctuations.

5. Scalability issues

As apps become more popular, the number of users and data will increase exponentially. The last thing you want is for a total break down on a big day when your App is getting all the attention. In the initial developmental stages itself, developers need to incorporate a design that will support a scalable system to handle the load of many users.

6. Provision for updates for mobile Apps

Change is constant. Users will expect new features and upgrades. If you don’t want your App to be left behind, it is worthwhile to invest in upgrading your App and also in additional testing for each upgrade.

You also need to ensure that the updates you release work well in different OS versions. While ensuring the releases happen in time, you also have to make sure that they are easy to upgrade or install. Your testing strategy should cover installation, updates and un-installation of the App to uncover any errors in the process.

7. Security challengesA security testing can help uncover vulnerabilities of data leakage during the transmission and working of the App. Your App must meet the authorization policies and other security standards set, to ensure that the user data is protected. You also need to include certificate testing in your strategy to meet the mandatory certificates set for compliance for devices and apps.

Based on these considerations and your App quality goals, you can create and implement a winning testing strategy to combat all the challenges. Considering the phenomenal amount of effort put in developing Apps, it is only worthwhile to invest in good Mobile Application testing to ensure that your App works great. With the right testing strategy, you can make your App not just good but incredibly delightful.

About 99tests

99tests is an online crowd testing platform that helps enterprises meet their App quality goals. Our crowd testing platform provides economical, and effective crowd-sourced testing solutions that enable individuals and businesses to pursue excellence in software technology.

Learn more about the App testing services provided by 99tests. Visit www.99tests.com . For more information, contact: contact@99tests.com