Mobile apps are being developed at a very fast rate these days. But unlike the late 2000’s, when there were not many good mobile applications, today’s app markets have thousands of applications providing similar functionality. Apple Store and Google Play Store have over 700,000 apps each with hundreds of new applications being added every day. What does this mean to the mobile app publisher? One word – “Competition”.
What happens when there is competition?
Applications have to be immensely competitive or unique to stand out from the sea of applications that are available. But you cannot rest on your laurels after gaining attention. You have to eliminate defects that plague your application and also try to add new features to improve the user experience to sustain the attention you grabbed.
But many applications that pack a good idea fail to generate the desired amount of attention, leaving the developers wondering why it was not successful. The reason is quite simple – lack of proper testing.
Why should you test mobile apps?
Testing is a time consuming and expensive activity. But, when the popularity of your mobile application goes down due to a critical defect or multiple minor bugs, then you might want to rethink your opinion on testing.
You try to fix the defects but the competitive nature of the market is such that you might not get a second chance to revive the app. When users come to your app, they see the negative comments, which turn off many people who would have downloaded the app otherwise.
Do you want all that trouble? Your objective is obviously to get maximum downloads and popularity, so that you can generate revenue from your application. Wouldn’t that be easier if you could avoid all the defects and get new ideas to improve your application? Testing suddenly does not appear expensive or time consuming. It seems to be more of an investment to improve your product.
A tested application is to a non-tested application what an ironed shirt is to a wrinkled shirt at an all important interview.
What can Testbytes do?
At Testbytes, we test your mobile apps thoroughly with a comprehensive 3-fold strategy to increase the number of downloads for your mobile app. We guarantee increased app downloads by following our go-to market strategy that provides app publishers like you with detailed test results, market research, competitive analysis and new feature suggestions.
We do a lot more than just user interface and functional testing of your application. Our test strategy is more users focused to enhance the user experience and not just the functionality. We keep no stone unturned to ensure that your users love to use your app and you love its developing process. We understand your product, conduct detailed market research, analyse your competitor apps to see what has already been done, and how they have been done. More importantly, we use all the data to provide you with insights to innovate. Innovation is what drives success, and in your case, it will be what drives your app downloads. We improvise on your innovation, making it edible for the general public. In short, we think to make you tick.
Month: June 2014
Why Is Independent Testing Necessary?
Development Team works with the mindset of “how to make this work?”. If the same developer is deployed to test the application then it becomes difficult for developers to detect any defect as they always worked with the thought of “how to make this work?”. A good tester works with the mindset of “how to break this?” and that’s what is required to test the application thoroughly. Owing to this fact, it becomes absolutely necessary for the application to be tested by an independent tester even for minor changes.
Here are 5 major reasons as to why independent testing is necessary and should be mandatory.
Reduced Cost
Quality testing requires automated testing techniques, which involves buying specialized tools. These tools are quite costly and it doesn’t make sense to buy them for a relatively small amount of testing. At times, you will have to test on multiple platforms such as Windows, Linux, Mac OS, etc. There will be variations in the hardware too. Testing would happen in a series of highs and lows through the year. Maintaining the infrastructure throughout the year even during the low times is an unnecessary expense.
On the other hand, an independent testing company with focus on testing will definitely invest in quality tools, and it makes perfect sense for them to maintain the infrastructure all through the year. So, it is a convenient solution that reduces your expense.
Shorter Testing Time
In house testing usually happens at the last stages of development. This can be problematic, particularly if the development itself takes a little more time than initially thought. You have to make the most out of available time. For that, readily available testing resources with proper preparation are required. This can easily be availed from an independent testing company, and as a bonus, you might even get services such as our own “Develop by Day, Test at Night”, which makes brilliant use of the difference in time zones. In short, your testing process will be a lot faster and comprehensive than when it is done in house.
Improved Quality
Independent testing companies are fully dedicated to testing products thoroughly. They bring a lot of technical expertise long with them. And, unlike in-house testers, they would be reporting bugs at the right time as it is a matter of reputation for the company. As the client, you would want the product to be as bug-free as possible, and the independent testing company would want to prove their efficiency by reporting more bugs. Also, the company would probably test your product against quality standards set by regulatory bodies, helping your sales process to be smooth.
Experience and Expertise
An independent testing company is a bunch of testers, who would keep up with the latest tools, techniques and trends. This would not be possible if you hire an in-house tester. These people would interact with each other and share ideas. Hence a seemingly undetected problem in-house might be uncovered by an independent testing company within no time. Also, as they are dealing with testing on a regular basis the employees of the testing company will have the know-how to operate on different testing tools.
Convenience
You don’t need to worry about maintaining a testing team in-house, or when your product testing will be complete. An independent testing company will provide you with deadlines. Your tester might fall sick at the most inconvenient time or might suddenly decide to leave the company. All such issues won’t bother you when outsourcing testing. It provides you the space and convenience to focus on your core area – development.
So, if convinced that outsourcing testing is the way to go, you might want to check out our amazing testing team. We have 1 week FREE TestDrive service that helps you find out how good we are.
The Pros & Cons of Automated Testing
Software testing is an evaluation process to identify any differences that exist between the desired output and actual output. Testing is in fact a quality control process for software. Great testing will enable the developers to iron out the chinks in software, thus assuring the quality of the product. Automated testing is the most effective and efficient way to provide software testing.
What Is Automated Testing?
Automated Testing is the process by which automated testing tools are used to find differences between desired output and actual output by running a set of pre-defined actions. If there are no differences between expectations and outcome, then your project would be bug free. However, if there is a mismatch, then your developer will have to take a look at the code, make corrections and run repeated tests until the desired outcome is obtained.
What are its Pros?
Fast and Effective
Once Automated Testing is in place, you will be able to use tests repeatedly. No more filling out the same information. Everything is taken care of automatically. Hence tests can be run at a fast pace repeatedly and the risk of human error is minimized, making it more effective.
Time Saving
One of the biggest benefits of employing Automated Testing is its ability to save time. This is particularly true in the case of regression testing, which is retesting done after some changes have been incorporated to previously tested software. All the scripts associated with the changes are required to run. But in the case of manual testing, time constraints can make testers skip some tests, which lead to undiscovered issues with the software. Automated tests, on the other hand, can be run at nights. This provides additional time to the tester, who will be able to focus more on areas that cannot be automated.
Cost Effective
Automation tools maybe costly. But if you are getting them for long term, they are an investment. They can find defects faster and therefore can do a lot more than a human can in a given period of time. This allows your development team to react quickly and saves you a lot of time and money. Are you a small company who still wants to enjoy the benefits of Automated Testing? Then, you should probably try out Independent testing.
Transparency
The test results of a particular project by a single tester are not easily accessible to others in the team. With Automated Testing, anyone interested can see the test results by just signing into the testing system. This results in a better final product.
Does It Have Any Cons?
Expensive: As mentioned earlier. Automated Testing can be expensive for smaller companies with smaller projects. However, such companies can depend on Independent testing companies such as Testbytes.
Cannot Replace Manual Testing
Automated tools, while being faster and precise, have some limitations compared to Manual Testing. For one, they just do what they are programmed to do. Hence they cannot replace manual testing.
Compatibility
All tools do not support all UI objects and testing. Some are specialized for UI Testing, some for DB Testing, some for web testing, and performance/load testing.
In short, Automated Testing minimizes time taken and maximizes accuracy to provide better deliveries and lower costs. We at Testbytes have the perfect mix of Manual and Automated Testing to provide the best results. There are also a couple of interesting concepts such as ‘TestDrive’ and ‘Develop by Day, Test by Night’ which provide immense value.
Why Test Mobile Apps?
Imagine this scenario – You see a really cool app totally by chance, and gets so smitten by it that you download it instantly. Entranced, you explore it with”. In a matter of minutes, the latest discovery is shared with your peers and on social media. Fast forward a couple of days when the freshness has slowly started to wear off, and you are like “This seemed to be great, but it’s just an ok app”. A week later, you feel the app was a complete waste of time.
How many times has this happened to you? If you are open to new apps, you might be suffering from this on a weekly or monthly basis and the reason – Bugs!
Applications can have great ideas, but if you want to retain users, a great user experience is mandatory. Your software should be bug-free for this to be attained. Testing can tell you if there are bugs and identify them so that it becomes easy for your developers to fix them. So, testing plays a major role in the mobile applications development process.
Top Reasons To Avail Mobile Apps Testing
Operating Systems
While developing a mobile application, you need to consider different operating systems. iOS, Android, Windows Mobile and other systems have different requirements. So testing shold be done to ensure that everything is working perfectly.
Wide Variety Of Hardware
There is a wide variety in mobile hardware. CPU, GPU, RAM, sensors, GPS, internal memory, etc will vary in different models of smartphones and tablets.
Screen Size
There are tablets, phablets and phones. Even among them, you can find different screen sizes. This is a major issue to deal with as the developer has to be very conscious and careful about the screen resolution during the development process as well.
Mobile Carriers
Each mobile carrier can have a different norm regarding the applications to be installed. Verizon wireless, AT & T, T-Mobile, Orange, Docomo, Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance etc., will have their own sofware additions, which the developers need to be aware of for the software to fuction smoothly.
Immaculate testing can ensure that your software offers a great experience to the end user despite the differences in hardware, operating systems, screen sizes and mobile carriers.
On Demand Software Testing
In a perfect world where you have all the time and money you need, your software can be tested from the beginning to end tackling each and every issue as it appears. But, ours is a fast paced world with strict deadlines and fast results as the norm. Hiring a testing expert would be the obvious choice. However, it will prove to be an unnecessary expense for you since the tester has to be paid even when there is no testing required. The best answer for your requirement is “On Demand Software Testing”.
What is “On Demand Software Testing”?
On Demand Software Testing is a testing service that is available for you anytime you need your software to be tested. This service can be availed according to your testing need and schedule. You can hire tester/s on hourly, daily, monthly and dedicated basis. This method excels as such a testing team will be a mix of expertise and experience.
What are its advantages?
- Controlled Costs – No need to hire a tester full time. Pay only for the actual testing hours and not idle time of testers.
- Flexible Schedule – No need to wait till the development is complete, testing can take place simultaneously
- Managed Services – No need to spend time trying to initiate and manage testing. Testing services can be initiated quickly.
- Reduced Time to Market – Trained and experienced testers available at flexible schedules to produce better results at a faster pace
- Transparency – Testing Status shared with the team on regular intervals and online to maintain high level of transparency
- Testing Expertise – Latest and best testing tools and test strategy with proven track record will be used. If you prefer to use a tool of your choice, we can analyze to use that too.
What software can be tested using “On Demand Software Testing”?
You can avail On Demand Software Testing for any type of software that is being developed or going through frequent changes. Whether you have a mobile app or a website or any other software, “On Demand Software Testing” is conducted by professionals with testing as their sole focus and thus delivers the best results.