Chapter 1: Introduction to Mobile Testing

Sequential life-cycle models such as V-model and waterfall are often used in mobile application development but not always. T or F

False. Due to the need to get the product to market quickly, these are much less frequently used in mobile application development.

It is common for mobile device application development to use the rapid prototype life-cycle. T or F

False. Using rapid prototyping typically results in the users becoming the testers. Agile methodology under an iterative life-cycle model is more suitable for mobile devices. An initial, simple version is developed and deployed. Features are added incrementally as they become ready and the market demands. Documentation is minimal and testing uses more lightweight methods and less documentation.

A clear understanding of equipment requirements is necessary before the tester approaches the project. T or F

True

Factors such as device location (rural/city), weather (sunny/rainy), usage location (indoors/outdoors), connectivity (WiFi/cellular) and others are significant in selecting the test approach, people and locations in which to test. T or F

True

Functional testing tasks including requirements analysis, test design, test implementation, test execution , results recording and reporting are necessary for mobile testing. T or F

True

Mobile testing requires the capability to test specific quality characteristics including security, usability, performance, portability/compatibility and reliability. T or F

True

mobile web applications

application is developed for use by a variety of devices with the majority of the code residing on the web site - mobile web apps must communicate with web server in order to run - in some cases the applications are the same as those used on a web site but a mobile version of that is used on a mobile web device

mobile web site

application is hosted on the server but designed for mobile access across multiple compatible devices - portability is the key concern

native mobile application

application specifically designed for a specific device family - applications reside on the device and communicate directly with the device through the device interfaces - coding is normally done using tools designed specific to that device - testing these requires either the specific device or simulators for that device and its software

hybrid applications

applications use a library or framework to handle platform specific differences - device functionality is accessed via plugins that may be unique for different device families - designed to be more portable than native mobile applications but still able to access unique device capabilities - often dependent on some level of connectivity with a web server and may also be subject to device/browser compatibility issues

types of mobile devices

cell phones, smart phones, tablets, e-readers, wearables, delivery recorders, etc.

typical application

designed to work in a browser on a pc/mac - may not provide adequate usability and function well accessed from a mobile device

mobile testing challenges

frequency of releases & portability/compatibility

2 categories of mobile applications

native and viewed through a web browser

OTA updates

over-the-air updates

Which style of testing approach is most widely used in mobile application testing due to frequent and rapid cycles?

risk-based testing approach

representative devices

their behavior can be determined to representative of other devices in the same class

2 characteristics that users expect most

usability and performance