Your Go-To Mobile App Testing Checklist for Developers

• User Interface (UI) Testing
• Functionality Testing
• Accessibility Testing
• Volume Testing
• Cross Platforms Compatibility
• Security
• Customization
• Memory Consumption
• Interruption Handling
• Location Accessibility
• Back-end & Database Testing
• Network Performance Testing
• Automation Testing

2024 is shaping up to be the year of intense competition in the Android mobile app space. With millions of apps battling for users’ attention, developers need more than just skill—they need the right tools to survive.

Mobile app downloads surpassed 230 billion globally in 2022 and continue to rise. Mobile traffic now accounts for 60% of global internet use, and with users spending an average of 5 hours daily on apps, providing exceptional experiences is non-negotiable. To thrive in this crowded market, robust mobile app testing is key. Here’s a structured guide to ensure your app is bug-free and ready for success.

1.User Interface (UI) Testing

Bugasura Fact: Your app’s UI is like a first handshake—it speaks volumes before a word is said. Keep it smooth and welcoming, not awkward and repelling.

Nothing frustrates more than thwarted expectations! Buttons, menus, and gestures must function as expected and provide a smooth interaction and experience for the user. A poorly designed UI can frustrate users leading to high uninstall rates. Testing the user interface helps you check for any bugs that could frustrate the user and ensures that the design and layout of the app deliver a seamless experience across various devices. 

What must you do?

• Test buttons, menus, and gestures across devices and browsers.
• Ensure proper layout for different screen sizes and resolutions.
• Validate UI responsiveness for touch interactions.

2. Functionality Testing

Bugasura Fact: Everyone loves surprises; except those that are on an app’s functionality.

Functionality testing is all about ensuring that every feature of the app works just as it is intended and expected to. An app’s functionality just cannot catch anyone by surprise. Testing to check how the app handles various functions such as user authentication, login and signup, form submissions, push notifications, processes payments, search tasks, file uploads and/or downloads, etc., must be thoroughly tested. This helps with identifying potential bugs or performance bottlenecks that instantly have the users uninstall the app.

What must you do?

• Test login, signup, and push notification functionality.
• Validate the app’s response to interruptions like calls and notifications.
• Ensure compatibility with different OS versions and test for memory consumption.

3. Accessibility Testing

Beyond Bugasura Fact: In 2023, 96.3% of websites had WCAG 2.1 AA compliance failures. Are you one of them?

Go the extra mile – it is a much needed one! Ensuring that your app complies with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is not just a legal obligation—it’s also the right thing to do.

When user experience and journey is at the core of this battle, testing your app for visual appeal, ease of navigation, and accessibility across users of all abilities and disabilities is sure to keep you surviving, even thriving in this field.

What must you do?

• Test font sizes, icons, and color schemes to ensure they are in line with your brand guidelines and visually consistent.
• Use accessibility testing tools to verify that the app is usable with screen readers, has appropriate text-to-speech features, and offers proper keyboard navigation.
• Ensure that the app offers a clean and intuitive user interface across different devices and platforms.

4. Volume Testing

Beyond Bugasura Fact: Coldplay tickets: sold out. The app? Just…out… for 18 minutes! 

When you’re planning to accomplish big things with your app, make sure your app is big on readiness too. Test your app to evaluate its performance when subjected to high volumes of data. Bombarding it with massive inputs, such as extensive databases or numerous transactions helps you check its ability to continue with smooth and seamless functioning – no crashing nor losing data. Identify those performance bottlenecks or capacity issues, fix them, and get on with being a star player!

What must you do?

• Test app behaviour with large datasets.
• Measure response times under heavy loads.
• Identify database or storage issues.
• Ensure stability during high-volume transactions.

5. Cross-Platform Compatibility

Bugasura Fact: In a world of simulation, keeping it real always wins!

This is where you must start as well, for real. While testing your app on simulators can seem impressive with the useful insights it provides, keeping it real and testing your app on various physical devices will fetch you far greater insights and results that are essential for a full understanding of your app’s performance. With each upgrade in Android OS version, the handling of apps too differs. So, take the time to physically test it across platforms. Keeping it real always pays you high dividends in the long run!

What must you do?

• Test on real devices to give yourself first-hand experience in actual user behaviour. This way, you will have more clarity on issues that surface all through the user journey and how they are to be addressed
• Just the sheer differences in Android versions, screen sizes, and resolutions too will give you a better feel of how an actual user would experience your app on their physical device. If this isn’t key in your understanding and perfecting of user experience, then you’re probably going to ‘tap out’ of this battlefield much sooner than you’d think.

6. Security:

Bugasura Fact: Trust always hits the sweet spot! It’s never outdated nor overrated.

Let your users know that you’re trustworthy, focus your efforts on testing for security. Security should always be your top priority, especially in today’s context where concerns about data safety and privacy are only skyrocketing with each day. Even a seemingly insignificant breach in your app’s security resulting in data leaks can cost you everything. As if losing user base isn’t enough consequence of poor security, it puts you at the risk of facing significant legal and financial consequences.

What must you do?

• Implement strong source code security measures, including encryption and secure storage of sensitive data.
• Use SSL/TLS protocols to safeguard data during transmission.
• Validate user inputs rigorously to prevent common exploits like SQL injection.
• Get on ahead! Perform penetration testing to simulate real-world attacks. This will help you to identify vulnerabilities before hackers get on with their game.

7. Customization

Bugasura fact: There are very few things in this world that can trigger rage and frustration like a rigid screen (IYKYK)!

A well-designed app seamlessly adapts to the user’s specific device configuration and settings right from font sizes to screen orientations and hardware buttons.  Get this right and you’d have won yourself a bunch of very happy and pleased users. So, concentrate your efforts on personalized experiences.  You’ll never be sorry that you did!

What must you do?

• Test your app’s ability to handle device rotation without distorting the user interface.
• One font size never fit all! So, ensure smooth functionality when users adjust font sizes, especially for accessibility to full range of information on each page.
• Properly implement the hardware back button functionality to provide a consistent and intuitive navigation experience.

8. Memory Consumption

Bugasura Fact: Mobile app users seem to agree with Adele – so, go easy on them!

There are some interesting trends and patterns which can be noticed when it comes to users’ app installation behavior. One trend suggests that users frequently install apps only to later uninstall them due to lack of space, poor performance, or not seeing value.

Not surprisingly, this is also one of the top reasons why users uninstall apps – excessive memory usage.

Features like push notifications and background processes can significantly increase memory consumption, leading to app crashes or slow performance on lower-end devices. Stay on top of the game, keep it easy on them and be the one they never want to let go off!

What must you do?

• Test memory-intensive features such as push notifications, background services, and media downloads.
• Ensure your app does not consume excessive resources or drain the device’s battery unnecessarily.
• Run memory profiling tools to identify potential memory leaks or areas of high consumption.

9. Interruption Handling

Bugasura Fact: Interruptions – the single most consistent factor that confronts every individual at any moment, any day, any stage, any sphere of life. You get the picture – Interruptions are unavoidable and inevitable.

Mobile devices are no exception to this Bugasura fact. A great mobile app is one that can prove efficiency in handling real-world interruptions and be graceful at it too. Whether it’s a network change, an incoming call, or a low battery alert, the app should be able to recover smoothly without crashing or losing user data.

What must you do?

• Test how the app responds to network switches (e.g., moving between Wi-Fi and mobile data).
• Simulate incoming calls, text messages, and notifications to ensure that these interruptions don’t crash the app.
• Ensure the app maintains its state and resumes properly after handling interruptions.

10. Location and Language Accessibility

Bugasura Fact: Cultural shocks are a universal phenomenon; except when it comes to apps! It just cannot happen.

The speed at which globalisation is taking place has profoundly impacted users’ expectations of the speed at which mobile apps seamlessly adapt across different regions and languages. Be it GPS accuracy or smooth language switching, apps that rely on location-based services or aim for a global audience must be sure to provide users with such a seamless experience that all they need to do is focus on settling in and building new connections.

What must you do?

• Verify the app’s ability to accurately detect and respond to the user’s GPS location.
• Ensure the app can switch between languages without disrupting the user interface or functionality.
• Test how the app handles regional differences such as date and time formats, currency symbols, and special characters.

11. Back-end & Database Testing

Bugasura Fact: First impressions come from the front end, but lasting trust comes from the back end.

Back-end and database testing are absolutely crucial to know whether your app is primed to handle and process data effectively. It is here that data from user inputs, external services, and APIs gets processed, and so proper testing of APIs, databases, and architecture is crucial.

Poor performance can lead to slow load times, data inaccuracies, or app crashes, severely affecting user experience and eventually leading to app uninstallation.

What must you do?

• Test API Responses to ensure API calls are reliable, quick, and able to handle data accurately.
• Test database to verify CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) and data integrity.
• Simulate high traffic and ensure the app’s architecture can handle stress and heavy load.
• Test database security to prevent SQL injection and data breaches.
• Test for seamless data flow and integration between the back end and front end.

12.Network Performance Testing

Bugasura Fact: Speed gives the thrill but how well the breakers are managed – that’s the real game-changer!

Your app might have passed well when tested on a high-speed connection. But the real test is to see how well your app performs when users are stuck with low bandwidth or high latency.

Testing network performance by simulating different network conditions to ensure your app can handle the chaos of the real world from power cuts to network outages to natural calamities that have completely disrupted normalcy, testing and making sure that your app can yet be a go-to is sure to put you at the top of the game. From switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data to buffering in rural areas, testing under various conditions is key to ensuring a smooth user experience.

What must you do?

• • Simulate low bandwidth and high latency to test app performance under stress.
  • Switch between networks (Wi-Fi to 4G/5G) and assess smooth transitions.

• Test how the app handles network interruptions, such as dropped connections or slow-loading content.
• Monitor data usage to ensure the app doesn’t hog bandwidth.
• Ensure consistent performance across different network speeds, preventing user frustration.

13.Automation Testing

Bugasura Fact: Time is money. Automation testing gives you high returns allowing you to redeem 90 percent of your time.

You know just how automation testing significantly boosts efficiency and catches bugs before they devour your entire app. Leveraging AI tools for software testing, automated test case generation tools, faster feedback loops, regression testing, simulating real-world scenarios, allows you to streamline the entire testing process, and checks this entire list in dream-time!

Keeping a tab on and processing all these points could get overwhelming, we know! Right there is where we step in to ease things out for you. 

Bugasura Android App is the fastest and easiest way to report and capture bugs and defects on any Android application.

With Bugasura Android App reporter you will have checked this entire list in a jiffy! 

Teams using Bugasura report and close bugs faster because:

• Automatic screenshot and flow capture
• Easy for anyone to explain bugs
• In-built CSS ruler and annotator to give pixel precise feedback
• Collaborative coverage report
• Capture edge cases with extensive test data
• Full fledged tracking and closure controls
• Issues automatically pushed to AI-enabled bug tracker

Bugasura Android App reporter is best for app development teams, manual testing teams, and product teams building android-first technology.

What must you do?

• Get started now with Bugasura – the Bug management tool for fast moving teams
• Join Bugasura Spaces – Our exclusive community for CTOs and modern technologists.
• Report, track, and resolve issues on your app efficiently with AI-enabled bug reporting and issue tracking.
• BONUS: Check out this framework on mobile testing (COP FLUNG GUN)

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