Testing Mobile Application

Testing on the mobile is very different and sometimes a more involved process then
testing conducted on the desktop environment because of the following key differences
between the desktop and mobile :-

Constraints and difference in hardware capabilities

The screen size of a typical desktop nowadays is around 19-23 inches as compared to the

mobile which could be around 1-2 inches, with limited color display options, the input

mechanisms of a desktop with a full QWERTY keypad with mouse as compared to a limited

keypad, both virtual and actual along with the absence of a mouse, the processor

capabilities are some of the key hardware differences between a mobile and a desktop.

These constraints do limit the amount of processing/input/output which the application

can possibly do in a satisfactory time line from a user perspective. It then becomes

imperative for the development team to take these factors into consideration while

developing and testing any application for the mobile environment.

Varying environments of usage

A mobile by its very definition is a device always ready to use and generally on the go,

compared to a desktop which pretty often sits on the desk meant for sedentary usage, even

in the case of laptops to a large degree. A mobile could be used while shopping,

traveling, driving and many other divergent activities, so it’s very important that the

applications developed for a mobile subscribe to the basic idea of a mobile and should

not place any demands on the user from a usability perspective. More often then not while

using applications on the mobile; the user wants faster response and quicker access to

services and features with the least possible input/decision making process. This should

be kept in mind while developing the look and feel, functionality and usage patterns for

the application.

Divergent demands/expectations of the end user

Compared to a desktop a user has different demands and expectations from a mobile. For

instance a typical user would expect to use different applications like

phone/camera/music players at the same time, and expect all of them to work reliably

together. The developer thus has to ensure that their application is not making too many

demands or using up too many resources off the hardware of other inbuilt applications up

to a point where they might end up hampering the performance of other applications.

It is against this backdrop that a mobile application has to be designed, developed and

then tested.

I found an article about mobile and handheld usability testing written by Tim Fidgeon. He

pointed out that mobile and handheld testing could actually be more important than

computer-based usability testing. Could he be right??

He has three main arguments for his statement.

A growing number of users are accessing the internet from mobile devices:

This is true. The awareness of the opportunity to get online anywhere you are is

spreading. More often then not the websites/content have been developed keeping in mind

the IO capabilities of a desktop and it doesn’t get rendered properly on the mobile. It

is thus imperative to ensure that the website development is done keeping in mind the

mobile, and should also ensure lesser inputs required in the case of mobile. Generally on

a desktop lot of times in case of IO errors, the developer notifies and expects response

from the user, but in the case of mobile the interaction between the user and the system

should be minimized because of the constraints discussed earlier.

Going online with your mobile is fairly new way of using the internet:

Computers have been in use “for ages”. Even if someone makes a rather unique design for a

web site, users are somewhat expert users and can navigate in almost all conditions.

Accessing the internet with mobile devices hasn’t been possible for that long. It’s a new

thing and the users may still be a bit confused about this opportunity, they may find the

navigation, layout and other things very different from the desktop environment. The

typical user could as well be a complete novice at this mode of accessing the internet

and this poses a challenge for the developers to ensure that they make the user at ease

while using the content, otherwise chances are that the user might end up abandoning the

idea of using the services through a mobile once and for all.

There is much more varying with different mobile and handheld device platforms than with computers:

The sizes of the screens differ. The platforms differ. With computers it doesn’t really

make much of a difference whether you use IE or Firefox. But it might make a big

difference whether you use NOKIA E90 communicator or iPhone, for example. Thus it is

imperative to ensure that the look and feel remain pretty much consistent on different

platforms/form factors and devices, as too much changing might end up confusing the user

even more.

The tester needs to ensure that the applications developed for the mobile are able to

perform reliably, with both speed and accuracy. They also need to ensure that the

usability aspect has been taken in to consideration.