This article talks about challenges in mobile testing, based on their priority and how we can try overcoming the same.

1. Top 12 Challenges in Mobile Testing
Over the last 5 years, we have seen an explosion in mobile apps to make our lives convenient and more efficient. And it appears there is no letting up.
Recently, Forrester Research noted that there are now 7.3 billion mobile devices in a world where there are only 7 billion people. The global Enterprise Mobility market is expected to grow annually by 15 percent every year, eventually reaching $140 billion by 2020. By 2020 roughly 10-12
percent of the enterprise IT budgets will be spent on mobility (NASSCOM - Deloitte).
This explosion of devices and apps is creating a strain on testing organizations. A broad number of tools have hit the market and we expect to see
strong growth in the number of options during the next three years. A plethora of challenges exist: gestures, geolocation, motion, and how to realistically conduct load tests to name a few. Many still rely on manual tests and a prayer. But as devices shift to business critical application platforms,
the ability to have consistent test automation will be a key to success. Let’s look at some of the top challenges in Mobile Testing listed below, based
on the priority.
Automation of OS features:
Some application or features which are a part of the OS cannot be automated for testing. For example, when a new keypad
is developed replacing the original OS keypad or provided as an additional, the automation testing of the developed
keyboard is not possible as it is not recognized by most of the automation tools due to the fact that it is a feature of the OS
itself.
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Identify Elements in Mobile Device:
The biggest challenge in mobile test automation is identifying the web/app elements of the application. While most of the
common elements are identifiable by the current automation tools, there are many applications which have some new
features in the UI and the automation tools will not be able to identify those elements. It requires lot of efforts to test
those unidentifiable elements.
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OS Version Restrictions:
The application works only on few versions of the IOS and will not work on higher or lower versions. Therefore, when there
are a bunch of apps to be tested, some apps require versions lower than the current one and some require higher version
than the current one.
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2. VPN Configuration:
For some apps, there is a need to connect to the VPN in order for the app to download content from the provided URL.
When the VPN facility is not available, the device is connected to the MAC system and the IPA file is downloaded and
synced through the iTunes to get the application working. This issue can be solved using the “Junos Pulse” app which
provides the VPN facility.
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Background Service Calls:
Testing the background service calls made by the application to check if the calls are made to the right URL/web service.
This issue can be solved using the “SYSTEM CONSOLE” application to track the background activity of the application.
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Monitor Traffic and Response Time:
To monitor the calls made to different web service calls and the response from the web service to validate if the calls are
made to the right service with correct parameters and to also validate the response parameters for correctness. Using the
Fiddler application, we can configure the proxy parameters of the device application with the Fiddler in Desktop. Once the
connection is successful, all the calls made and the response received by the application is tracked by the Fiddler and it is
validated manually.
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Firewall Restrictions:
Few applications after consecutive builds by developer/Client need to be downloaded through the URL. Sometimes when
the URL is blocked by the firewall, the device is unable to download the application.
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Performance:
- 30% of development time was saved using our Solution Accelerators
- Average time spent on the portal increased from 19 sec to 130 sec, because of advanced technologies used in UX
engineering
The Performance of the application is affected when there is an IOS version Upgrade.
- The Portal can support almost one million profiles and it is further scalable
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Cache Issues:
Sometimes, the application holds the data in the cache memory and does not display the right values on the screen. In that
case, the application needs to be uninstalled and reinstalled again.
- The portal was designed in an eventual consistency model, to accommodate enormous number of activities from end
users
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Require Source Code:
For few mobile applications, the mobile testing tools require the complete source code of the application to test it. Most
of the times, the developer or the client will not be ready to share the source code of the application.
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Running the Test on Emulators:
Most of the times, it is required to perform the testing on Emulators rather than the Real Devices. This might be due to
non availability of devices or some technical limitations. But, when the testing is done on the emulators, the system
performs very slowly and takes more time to complete the testing.
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3. Hardware Limitations:
Few heavy applications are dependent on the hardware of the mobile devices. For example, a heavy financial banking
Android app requires a particular GB of RAM for the application to work seamlessly. But there can be many devices with
different hardware configurations available with the same Android OS. When the same application is downloaded to an
Android device with lesser hardware configuration than required, the application will crash frequently
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About Aspire
Aspire Systems is a global technology services firm serving as a trusted technology partner for our customers. We work with some of the world's
most innovative enterprises and independent software vendors, helping them leverage technology and outsourcingin our specific
areas of expertise. Our services include Product Engineering, Enterprise Transformation, Independent Testing Services and IT Infrastructure
Support services
Our core philosophy of "Attention. Always." communicates our belief in lavishing care and attention on our customers and employees.
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